


you've got time

by ladydetective



Series: you've got time [1]
Category: Jane the Virgin (TV), Orange is the New Black
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, F/F, Homophobia, Other characters to be added as they appear, Solitary Confinement, can you believe that this is now semi canon compliant, mentions of drug abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-09-25 22:17:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9848840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydetective/pseuds/ladydetective
Summary: Instead of dying, Rose is caught by the police and sent to prison. Due to former connections from her time as a lawyer, Rose receives an unprecedentedly light sentence. Infuriated, the police come down hard on any of her known associates, including Luisa.Sentenced to 15 months in Litchfield Penitentiary and dealing with her deteriorating relationship with her brother, Luisa thinks it couldn't get much worse.[ENTER ROSE]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, welcome to the thing that's consumed my mind for the past couple of weeks. Just a few things:  
> -A big thank you to Caoimhe for being my beta, and also to Mickie for answering all my annoying questions.  
> -I'm trying to keep this story light while simultaneously dealing with some of the issues of the characters, so the tone will vary quite dramatically.  
> -This first chapter relies heavily on canon dialogue. I'll be more original eventually, I promise! A lot of this dialogue was important for plot purposes/first character introductions etc.  
> -Enjoy!

‘I can’t tell you what to do. This is your decision, obviously, but if this case goes to trial, there is a high likelihood of conviction and a very harsh sentence. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that there has been public outrage over the Sin Rostro verdict.’

_That was the understatement of the century_ , Luisa thought as she contemplated her lawyer’s words. Rose- _God, it hurt to think about her_ – had managed to regain the upper hand after her initial capture by hiring a hotshot defence attorney. She had received an unprecedentedly light sentence, leaving the media in a frenzy and her former associates in hot water.

‘Given your history of addiction and the… _personal_ nature of your relationship with Sin Rostro, the jury won’t be inclined towards leniency.’

‘But I never actually _did_ anything. I wasn’t aware of Ros -Sin Rostro’s crimes until after she had already left Miami. I _helped_ the police catch her.’ It was still difficult for Luisa to use Rose’s criminal moniker, but people tended to look at her with undisguised judgement if she didn’t.

‘Be that as it may, you maintained contact with a known fugitive for over six months. That’s considered aiding and abetting a known criminal, and is a felony.’ The lawyer paused, noticing her distress, and continued on more softly: ‘People are angry and want a scapegoat. You’re it.’

_So this is what it’s come to_. _I’m a failed doctor, Raf isn’t speaking to me and now I’m going to prison._ _At least I’m not drinking,_ Luisa thought ironically, _Rose would have congratulated me for that._ She turned to face her lawyer again. ‘So what are my options?’

‘I would advise that you to take a plea deal. 15 months in Litchfield Penitentiary.’

_15 months_. A lot could happen in that time. _15 months_. Those small words kept reverberating around her head, a relentless cacophony.

‘That could turn into more time if this goes to trial and you lose, which, I’m afraid, is likely.’

Luisa took a shaky breath and said ‘Then I guess I don’t have much of a choice.’

* * *

 

Luisa felt ill as she walked through the doors of Litchfield Penitentiary and entered the building’s cold, oppressive hallway. She also wanted a drink. _Really_ wanted one. She had somehow managed to keep it together in the weeks after Rose’s capture and her subsequent legal issues, but now, facing the start of her 15-month sentence, she could feel her composure slipping.

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and began what felt like and endless walk towards the front desk, lights flickering above her as she did so. She cleared her throat and mustered up a smile for the woman at the desk. ‘My name is Luisa Alver, I’m here to self-surrender.’

The woman at the desk raised an eyebrow in surprise. Luisa guessed that they must not have many self-surrender cases. ‘Take a seat while I sort out your paperwork.’

Luisa did as indicated. Her hands were shaking, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to breathe. She took out her phone in a bid to calm herself. _I’ll let Raf know that I got here okay_ , she thought. The text had just sent when a harsh, female voice belonging to a middle-aged, frazzled looking C.O barked ‘Hey, no cell phones in here. Turn it off and put in in the bag with the rest of your personal shit and come with me.’

They walk into a room that looked like it housed the personal effects of the inmates as well as a supply of bright orange jumpsuits with the letters D.O.C emblazoned on the back. ‘Strip,’ demanded the guard, or Wanda, as the name tag suggested. Luisa tentatively began to remove her clothes. She was used to removing her clothes in front of women in a variety of situations, but this felt different, wrong. Wanda examined every curve of her body, searching for the slightest hint of contraband. Luisa shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. When it was deemed that her person was free of prohibited items, Luisa was brusquely ordered to change into the jumpsuit.

Luisa was then escorted outside of the building towards a dilapidated white van. There was another presumably new inmate beside her, wearing the same bright orange jumpsuit paired with a surly expression. Luisa offered her a weak smile. The driver of the van- a petite woman, with short dark curls and vivid red lipstick- turned towards her and said with a heavy New York accent ‘This your first time down here?’

‘Yeah. Is it that obvious?’

‘Kinda. Don’t worry ‘bout it. Everyone is a little out of sorts when they first get here. You’ll adjust. Watch out for the stealing, though. What’s your name?’

‘Luisa.’

‘No, your last name. We all use last names here. Mine’s Morello, that’s Watson.’ She offered Luisa a welcoming smile. It set her mind at ease, if only marginally.

‘Alver.’

‘And how much time’ve you got, Alver?’

’15 months.’ Her momentary reprieve from anxiety dissipated again upon thinking about her sentence.

‘Aw, that’s not so bad. I got 34, but I’m hoping with good behaviour that it’ll be less.’

‘Oh! You’re an inmate? And you’re allowed to drive?’

‘Well who else is going to do it? We do everything around here. You’ll get your own work assignment in a couple weeks, once you’re settled in. They sometimes base it on what you did when you were out. What did you do?’

The news that she would be allowed to work shocked Luisa. She was used to rehab, or even briefly the psychiatric hospital, where the hours we long and unfulfilling, and she was left with too much time with her own thoughts. ‘I am… was a doctor.’

‘Really?’ Morello looked at her with a new interest. ‘We’ve never had a doctor here before. Maybe they’ll put you in medical. You’d be better than the quack we got there now.’

To be allowed to practice again… Luisa didn’t dare to give herself this hope, only to have it dashed later on. ‘My licence was suspended. I doubt they’d let me near patients.’

‘I wouldn’t be so sure. They don’t exactly care about qualifications here. They got people working in electrical who never fixed a fuse in their lives.’

‘That sounds dangerous.’

‘Oh it is. Anyway, can I ask you something? You look like you’d know.’ Morello indicated to the magazine that she had been holding. ‘Which dress do you like better?’

‘You’re getting married? Congratulations!’ Luisa set aside her woes for the time being and focused on Morello. It was comforting, dealing with others’ issues instead of confronting her own. Watson snorted with derision beside her.

‘Thank you! We’re gonna get hitched after I get out. He’s such an angel, waiting all this time for me.’ She said this with a dreamy expression on her face, but there was something dark behind the shine in her eyes. ‘My top two faves are the ones with the half-and-half lids stuck to the pages. See, I want something that’s gonna express my personality. And the trick is, I wanna show off the boobs and the ass, but I’m not so happy with the upper arms and the stomach, so there’s the challenge.’

Luisa considered the choices before her. She was experienced with examining wedding dresses, both from her own ill-fated marriage and accompanying her numerous former-stepmothers to bridal shows. She’d made her excuses with the last one, for obvious reasons. ‘Maybe go with long sleeves if you’re not too happy with the arms, and then something tight and revealing to showcase your other assets.’

Morello responded with an enthusiastic smile.

‘You think your man is still going to be around when you’re out?’ Watson enquired. Her voice was bitter, but there was also an underlying edge of curiosity.

‘He’ll be there. I’m the love of his life.’ Her words seemed so certain, yet the dark spark had returned to her eyes.

‘34 months is a long time.’

‘Yeah, but she’s the love of his life. Time doesn’t just erase that kind of connection,’ Luisa interjected. _That_ was something she had learned from experience. She had poured so much energy into trying to forget Rose, forget what they had had. Dating other people, therapy sessions… hell, even her marriage to Allison had been an ill-advised attempt at getting over her. Nothing had worked.

Their exchange was interrupted by the arrival of a third inmate. The petite brunette, whom had been affected by Watson’s words more than she’d let on, offered a kind smile to the new arrival and said ‘Looks like that’s everyone. We better get going before they write me a shot for keeping you here too long.’

Luisa’s first impression of Litchfield was that it was… cold. High fences topped with barbed wire, a long, grey pavement leading towards an austere red-bricked building. The inmates were gathered together in clustered groups. For some, the arrival of new inmates was a relatively exciting affair. They were the ones that stared and whispered amongst each other as she was led to the prison door by Morello. For others- particularly those that had been there a long time- new arrivals were nothing to take particular interest in. They spared the group no more than a passing glance. To Luisa, this second group was worse. To become so hardened by their experiences that they no longer even noticed new arrivals was deeply unsettling.

As Morello approached the door, it opened to reveal a dark-skinned older woman. She greeted Morello politely and walked into the yard.

‘Watch out for that one,’ warned Morello. ‘Don’t get me wrong, she’s a good lady but… you don’t wanna get on her bad side.’ She hurried the trio inside. ‘I’m going to send you guys down to processing. We can meet back here after you’re done and I’ll show you your bunks.’

* * *

 

Luisa walked to processing. The room contained two male C.Os, one of whom had a creepy looking moustache. ‘Raise your head and look at the lens,’ drawled the creepy guard in a thoroughly disinterested tone of voice. He fiddled around with the keys on the computer in a bid to get the camera software to work. ‘Aw fuck me. Stupid fucking thing is broken again. Hey, new guy, Bennett, or whatever the fuck your name is, take a look at this will you?’ He directed his question towards the other male C.O in the room.

Bennett turned towards the computer and tried to get it to work, with little success. Their incompetence had a strange, normalising effect on Luisa. Seems like people were as inept with technology in prison as they were outside of it.

‘There’s an unplugged cord at the back of the console, you think that could be it?’ Luisa gestured towards said cord.

‘Shut your mouth and stand still,’ snarled the creepy guard. Bennett did as Luisa indicated and the software began working as normal. The camera snapped a picture, and she was handed her newly minted ID card. Having this physical reminder made the experience feel alarmingly real once more.

Luisa was ushered through to medical. There she was examined by the on-site nurse. She took a moment to examine the facilities. They seemed alarmingly ill-equipped to deal with such a large inmate population.

‘Nice veins,’ remarked the nurse. ‘No track marks.’

‘Thanks, I think? Drugs were never really my poison. I am… was more of a tequila girl. Or rum. Or vodka. Or anything really.’

He nodded in understanding. ‘Gotcha. Most of the women here are one or the other. Some unlucky suckers are both. By the way, I looked at your notes, and you’re a doctor?’

‘I was. My licence has been suspended. I accidentally artificially inseminated the wrong woman. It’s a long story,’ Luisa said with a sigh.

‘Well, you’re technically a more senior practitioner than I am. I’m a nurse, and the D.O.C won’t fork out for a qualified doctor. It’s not as if you could accidentally artificially inseminate anyone here. I’ll speak to Caputo, see if we can get you assigned to medical.’

Luisa was speechless. When Morello had mentioned the possibility of working in medical in the van, she hadn’t dared to believe it. Though she hadn’t always appreciated it, Luisa had _loved_ being a doctor. Perhaps it was a result of her own seemingly incurable issues, but she loved helping others be rid of theirs. It was unlikely that she’d ever be able to get her licence back on the outside. Practicing while in prison was a possibility that she had never dreamed of.

‘Medically, you seem fine. You should probably go talk to your counsellor now. I’m sure you have a lot to discuss.’

* * *

 

‘Are you okay?’ asked Healy, Luisa’s assigned counsellor. He was a large man with greying hair.

Luisa took her time in answering that question. The talk with the nurse and the increasingly likely possibility of being able to practice again had done much to lift her spirits. However, she _was_ still in prison. ‘I… think that I am. For the moment. I was talking with the on-site nurse, and he mentioned that I could maybe… work with him in medical. I am a qualified doctor, I specialised in gynaecology.’

He scrunched his face in contemplation. ‘Well, your experience would come in handy around here. We’ll see if Fig will go for it. She does like to find cost-effective alternatives.’ There was a trace of bitterness in his tone. ‘Anyway, you’ll get your assignment in a few weeks with the rest of the new inmates.’

‘I also noticed your AA record. You’ve been in and out of rehab for years. The prison holds weekly meetings. It’s something you should consider.’ Luisa disliked the condescension in his tone and the blasé manner in which he brought up her drinking. It was something she preferred to introduce on her own, not have summarised to her as if it was a particularly interesting part of a book report.

Healy continued looking through her file, either not noticing or not caring about Luisa’s discomfort. ‘And now we discuss the reason that you’re here. Sin Rostro. It was a big case. A lot of people were angered by the outcome.’

‘I’d noticed.’ Healy frowned at that. His voice became harder, taking on a particularly sharp edge.

‘I know you’re here because of your former… _relationship_ with Sin Rostro.’ He pursed his lips at the word relationship. ‘But I’m willing to forgive that. This can be a fresh start for you. There are lesbians here, but they’ll leave you alone if you leave them alone. You do not have to have lesbian sex. There will be punishments if you do.’

Luisa was floored. It had been a while since she had experienced homophobia _this_ blatant. ‘Excuse me?!’ She spat out. ‘You _forgive_ me for my relationship with-’

Luisa was cut off by Healy’s ice-cold glare. ‘Close the door on your way out. You’ll be wanting to go and get your temporary room assignment.’

* * *

 

Luisa was generally an even-tempered person, prone to fits of tears rather than rage. She left Healy’s office however, in a fury. _How dare he_ , she thought. _He’s supposed to be a counsellor! His **job** was to help people, not make light of their problems and insult their sexualities. _ She’d had her fair share of useless counsellors in the past, but if she didn’t click with one of them she could simply try out others until she found one that suited. Those assigned to Healy here didn’t have that option.

She re-joined Morello and the group of other new inmates. Upon seeing the anger on her face, Morello commented ‘That bad, huh?’

Luisa snorted. ‘You could say that.’

‘Healy’s an asshole, but at least he does his paperwork. Some of ‘em don’t even do that. I’d better finish up this tour. Count starts soon.’ She made several motions with her hands, indicating where the rooms she was showing them were. ‘Rooms up there, dorms are down there. Now, you are not allowed down there. It’s out of bounds for you until you get assigned there. You understand?’

A thin, wiry woman with short, blonde hair approached Morello. Morello wrapped an arm around her shoulder in a friendly greeting. ‘Namaste, Jones!’

‘Namaste,’ replied the woman in a serene voice. She joined her hands together and gave a slight bow.

‘Jones here teaches yoga if you ever want, and she’s good. Very spiritual.’

_That might be nice_ , she mused, _It’s not like I can go visit my shaman in here whenever I feel overwhelmed._

‘When do we get uniforms like everyone else?’ enquired the brunette standing beside Luisa, or Daya, as her ID card suggested. Morello was about to reply to her, but her words were cut off by a woman walking up to Daya and slapping her across the face.

‘Friend of yours?’ Asked Morello.

Daya, clutching her face in shock and pain, replied in a strained, embarrassed voice ‘No. It’s my mom.’

Huh. Luisa had thought that _she_ had family issues.

Morello escorted Luisa and Daya to their temporary living quarters, Watson having been shown to separate ones earlier in orientation. The room was crowded, housing six inmates including Luisa and Daya, as well as an array of shelves and other miscellaneous items.

‘DeMarco, this is Alver. She self-surrendered earlier. Be nice, show her what’s what.’ DeMarco was older woman, with an accent similar to Morello and was wearing red lipstick with blue eyeshadow.

Morello turned to face Luisa. ‘I gotta go. Count begins soon. But take this. First night’s always hard.’ She handed Luisa some tissues and a toothbrush.

Luisa thanked her, and offered a genuine smile in return.

‘There’s no need. We were all new here once, people tend to forget that.’ With that, Morello left the room.

‘What’s your name again?’ asked DeMarco.

‘Luisa. Alver.’

DeMarco nodded. She gestured towards the other side of the room, where a bald woman was lying on her bed, looking to be in significant discomfort. ‘That’s Miss Rosa.’ She then indicated to the woman lounging on the bunk above her. She had erratic blonde hair and was in the midst of reading a magazine. ‘That’s Nicholls. Just got out of SHU a week ago. Told a C.O to kiss her ass. Dumb move. Why make trouble for yourself, you know?’

‘SHU is solitary confinement, right?’ Luisa gave Nicholls a second once-over. Though she was aiming for nonchalance, there was a tightness to her limbs that revealed that she was not as relaxed as she pretended to be.

‘Yeah, and you don’t want to end up there, trust me.’

Luisa nodded in understanding. She didn’t like the idea of days in a single room, left alone with her thoughts.

She noticed a beige-coloured machine at the foot of DeMarco’s bed. It looked like some form of dated medical equipment. ‘What’s that?’ she enquired, pointing towards the machine.

‘Oh, that’s my machine. I need it at night. When I first got here, I had a massive heart attack.’ Luisa was shocked at the information. To have a heart attack, or any serious illness in prison, away from your family… it wasn’t a comforting thought. As for the equipment she was hooked up to… it was ancient. She had used more up-to-date machinery as an undergrad.

DeMarco must have noticed Luisa’s shocked expression, because she shrugged her shoulders and claimed ‘I don’t like to dwell.’

Luisa glanced at the bunk that would be hers until she got her permanent assignment. Her fury at Healy and the kindness of the other inmates had distracted her somewhat, but now, facing the imminent and real possibility of her first night in prison, she began to feel overwhelmed once more. She wanted to speak to Raf. She’d never gotten the chance to see if he had replied to her text before her phone had been taken away. She turned to face DeMarco again and asked, in a tone of voice that wavered in strength ‘H-how do I make a phone call?’

 ‘You need a PAC number. Fill out a form. The whole rigmarole.’ She noticed Luisa’s dejected expression, and added more softly ‘You could try go to Caputo’s office. It helps if you cry.’ She gave a conspiratorial grin and wink with the last part.’

Luisa turned towards her bunk, and reached out towards the blanket. DeMarco stiffened from behind her. ‘Don’t, we’ll make the bed. We know how.’

Luisa frowned. She may have grown up wealthy, but she DID know how to make a bed. ‘It’s okay, I can do it.’

‘No, that’s not what I meant. We know how to do it so it’ll pass inspection.’ Luisa was too tired, too overwhelmed to argue. She really wanted to speak to Raf, tell him how it had been so far and to apologise for being in contact with Rose, again. He had been ignoring her calls until this point, but he couldn’t continue that now, could he?

A red alarm on the wall outside of the room began blaring. It startled Luisa out of her own thoughts. She jumped. ‘It’s okay, it’s just count. The guards go to every bunk and make sure we’re all where we’re supposed to be. Just stay still till it’s over,’ re-assured DeMarco.

Two guards entered the room and counted the inmates using a clicker. DeMarco and Nicholls were about to climb back into their respective bunks when the sirens began ringing again as the creepy guard from earlier called for a re-count over the intercom.

‘Jesus. How hard is it to fucking count,’ complained Nicholls. They were the first words that Luisa had heard her utter.

DeMarco took the opportunity to introduce them. ‘Nicky, this is Alver. Luisa Alver.’

Nicky nodded to Luisa. ‘So what’re you in for?’

Luisa let out a shaky breath and said in a rush: ‘It’s kind of a long story. I had an affair with a crime lord. Except I didn’t know that she was a crime lord at the time. I thought she was just my step-mother. Then I kept in contact with her for six months while she was a fugitive. I did know about the crime thing then. We never talked about anything crime related though. It was mostly light roleplay. The police weren’t too thrilled with me… so here I am.’

Nicky raised an amused eyebrow. ‘Shit, not what I was expecting. C’mon Alver, let’s get to dinner.’

* * *

 

Nicky and Luisa walked into the dining hall together. It was crowded, packed with women of almost every descriptor imaginable. Nicky pointed to various inmates and offered scraps of information on them. It was more than Luisa could remember at once. Once they had retrieved their none-to-appealing meal, Nicky led her towards the table where the wiry yoga instructor that she had briefly encountered earlier was sitting.

‘You sit over here, I just gotta go talk to someone a minute. I’ll be back.’ Nicky walked over to another group of inmates. They seemed more rambunctious than Luisa could handle at the moment, so she did as Nicky suggested and slid into the space next to the yoga instructor.

She offered a friendly, understanding smile, ‘I’m Jones.’

‘Alver.’ It was still strange to Luisa, constantly introducing herself by her last name- at least without the ‘Dr.’ moniker in front of it.

‘And are you doing okay, Alver?’

‘I’m never really sure how to answer that question.’

Jones’s response was interrupted by the approach of an elderly, red-haired woman wearing a cross around her neck. She sat down beside Jones. ‘Hi Sister, this is Alver.’

‘Sister ...As in…a nun?’ Luisa and Rafael had never spent much time around nuns or other religious figures as children, their father not being inclined to bring them to church often. She didn’t have the same aversion to them that Rafael did, but was still a little wary of them as an unfamiliar entity. _Although_ , she mused, _I’m surrounded by the unfamiliar, might as well get used to it_.

‘Yep, a killer nun,’ replied yoga Jones, with an amused smile on her face.

‘Now, stop it. She doesn’t know you’re joking.’

Jones relented and said ‘She chained herself to a flagpole at a nuclear test site.’ The Sister then joined her hands together and said a silent grace over her food.

Once she was finished, she turned to Luisa and asked, ‘So, Alver, what’s your story?’ He voice was kind and polite, but Luisa was getting sick of that question very fast, and the complicated answer that succeeded it.

At that moment, Nicky decided to re-materialise. ‘Heeeeey, Luisa. You can’t be taking advice from a nun and a hippie.’ She sat next to Luisa.

Yoga Jones responded in a flat, sarcastic tone, ‘By all means, seek out the supreme wisdom of the junkie philosopher.’ She knew Jones meant well, but the ‘junkie’ comment irked Luisa. She didn’t like it when people were defined by their addictions.

‘I pray for you Nicky.’

‘Aw, I pray for you too, Sister.’ Nicky turned to Yoga Jones and said, in a playful voice with a smirk on her lips, ‘I lust after you, Yoga Jones, those sinewy arms.’ She chuckled. Yoga Jones rolled her eyes.

A woman with dyed red hair- a deep red, more similar to blood than anything else- and a confident swagger moved over to their table. She took several yoghurts out of her jacket pocket and slid them down the table, one to each inmate.

‘Thanks mom,’ said Nicky, with a smile on her face that was only half sarcastic. The other half, the one she was trying to stifle, revealed her fondness for the older woman.

Remembering the fraught confrontation in the hall between another mother and daughter, Luisa asked in a somewhat timid tone of voice, ‘She’s your mom?’

‘Nah. Maternal figurehead. My actual mother lives in Brazil with her boyfriend Paolo, who destroys rainforests and collects photorealistic art. She is a cunt; I am an embarrassment.’

Luisa let that one sink in. The feeling that she was out of her depth was rapidly returning.

Upon seeing that Red was doling out treats, another woman joined their quickly increasing group. She was large, and had short dark hair. Her arms were covered in tattoos. ‘Hey Red,’ she said in a faux-jovial tone of voice, ‘You got one of those for me?’

Red acknowledged her, ‘You got what I asked you for?’ She sounded somewhat sceptical. She had a harsh Russian accent.

The other woman spread out her hands in a what-can-I-do gesture, ‘I’m working on it.’

Red snorted. ‘Then so am I. Treats come when I sleep better.’

The other woman left in a huff. ‘How hard is it to get me a board from the woodshop? Ugh. People.’ Red sounded irritated. She turned to Luisa. ‘Who’s this?’

Luisa opened her mouth to introduce herself, but Nicky got there first. ‘This is Alver. She’s new. Self-surrender. Got some sort of fucked up history with a crime lord.’

Red got up from her seat and handed Luisa a yoghurt. ‘Here. Have a yoghurt.’

She eyed it warily. ‘What do I have to do for it?’

Red shrugged. ‘You’re new. Take it as a gift.’

Luisa was genuinely grateful, but the kind gesture did little to quell the rising anxiety and the mounting feeling of being overwhelmed inside her.

She put on a brave face and said to Red, ‘Thank you, thank you so much.’ Desperately wanting something worthwhile to contribute to the conversation and to find some sort of commonality with her new inmates, she said in a low, conspiratorial whisper, ‘The food here is disgusting.’

The table became silent. The expressions of her companions became strained. Luisa knew then that she had made a dire mistake.

‘Did I mention that Red runs the kitchen?’ murmured Nicky.

Shit.

* * *

 

 

Luisa was panicking. Anyone who had ever seen a movie set in prison could tell you that insulting the food, _in front of the chef_ , was a _bad_ move. Yet she had just done it. Shit. The faces of her dinnertime compatriots conveyed the seriousness of her mistake. They seemed almost unable to look at her, as if glancing at her face would admit their guilt by association.

‘Holy shit. _That_ was an epic fuck up,’ even Nicky, irreverent, unflappable Nicky, seemed surprised and somewhat shaken by the exchange that had just taken place.

Luisa’s previous feelings of being overwhelmed and out of her depth increased tenfold, coupled with a genuine and founded fear for her own safety. She wanted to speak to Raf. No, she _needed_ to speak to him. Suddenly remembering DeMarco’s words from earlier, she turned to Nicky and asked in a tremulous voice, ‘Could you take me to Caputo’s office? I need to make a phone call.’

* * *

 

‘Can I help you?’ asked Caputo in a bored drawl without looking up from his computer. He was a short man with balding hair and an untidy moustache.

‘My name is L- Alver, they told me I should talk with you. I’m new and I don’t have a PAC number yet and I would really like to use the phone.’

Caputo seemed unmoved. ‘Who’s they?’

There was no need for Luisa to summon fake tears. The seeming hopelessness of her situation meant that they were readily available. ‘Mr. Caputo, please let me call my brother. I have to let him know that I’m okay.’

Caputo rolled his eyes, but seemed to relent. ‘Two minutes. That’s all that you get. And close the door, I don’t want a run on my office.’

He turned the phone towards her, and Luisa eagerly dialled in her brother’s number. Raf would know exactly how to calm her down and let her know that everything was okay.

 ‘Hello, this is Rafael Solano, executive manager of The Marbella hotel, who am I speaking to?’ His voice was comforting, a glimpse into a familiar world that at that moment felt far away to Luisa.

‘Raf, it’s me. Oh my god, I have so much to tell you. One of my roommates had a massive heart attack when she got here and my counsellor’s a homophobic ass and…-’

Luisa’s increasingly distressed rant was cut off by Rafael. ‘Luisa, why are you calling me? I thought I’d made it clear that I can’t talk to you right now. Not after what you did.’

‘But Raf, I-’

‘No. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t have time for this right now. Goodbye Luisa.’ He ended the phone call.

Luisa sat in stunned silence in Caputo’s small office, desperately trying, and mostly failing, to stop herself from crying again. All her life, she’d been there for Rafael, and he’d been there for her. All of that obliterated by a handful of emails.

Caputo looked at her with some sympathy. He’d been expecting to have to wrestle the phone away from her after her allotted two minutes were up. That was the way it was with most inmates. He said, softly ‘Your head’s not here yet. Don’t worry, it’ll catch up. In the meantime, try and get some sleep. Orientation is at nine AM tomorrow.’

Luisa nodded numbly. She turned and left the room. It was too much. Being here, with the bizarre rules that it seemed she’d never get the hang of, insulting the food, now Raf’s rejection… as well as the reason she was here in the first place. Rose. It always came back to Rose. She needed air, needed to clear her thoughts.

There was a door near her. She exited through it, lost in her own thoughts. There was a metallic… thing nearby. She collapsed against it and started breathing heavily, desperately trying to recall the exercises that her shaman had taught her. The floor was wet, but Luisa didn’t pay much attention to it. That was, until she heard someone make their way through the deluge towards her. She could see the reflection of the person in the water. It was a woman. She was tall and thin, with curly dark hair. She looked oddly familiar… no. No, it couldn’t be. Luisa looked up.

‘Don’t look so surprised,’ said Rose with an arrogant smirk on her face, ’You know ours is the greatest love story ever told.’


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luisa deals with the consequences of her mistake in the dining hall, and receives a visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Thanks to everyone who left kudos/commented on the last chapter, I really appreciated it!  
> -Also, major warning for hunger/involuntary starvation in this chapter.

Luisa’s first night in prison was hard. Though irritating, the snoring of the other inmates or the whirring of Demarco’s heart machine wasn’t what was bothering her most. No, that dubious honour was reserved for Rose. As it had so frequently been as of late.  

She had _enough_ to be dealing with, dammit. Adjusting to life in prison, her strained relationship with Raf… not to mention the fear that had been churning in her stomach since her mistake in the dining hall. Red didn’t seem like a pleasant person to cross, and Luisa had managed to earn her ire in their very first meeting.  

Yet still, her thoughts drifted to Rose. _What was she doing here?_ Luisa hadn’t given her much of a chance to explain herself during their confrontation outside, not wanting to hear her excuses and risk falling back under her spell. Rafael would never forgive her, for one. She’d known that Rose had gotten an incredibly light sentence, but _minimum security?_ Her lawyer must’ve spun one hell of a story.  

Despite herself, Luisa began to grow curious as to just how Rose had ended up here, and what she intended to do next. She couldn’t picture Rose, who enjoyed control and having power over people, easily submitting to a role that would render her essentially powerless, at the mercy of a system not known for its forgiving nature. She must have some kind of plan.  

With those thoughts in mind, Luisa sank into an uneasy sleep.  

* * *

 

It felt as if she had just drifted off when she was being roughly shaken awake by DeMarco. ‘C’mon, you want time to shower and eat, you gotta get up now.’ The older woman must have noticed Luisa’s red-rimmed eyes, because she said more softly, ‘Take a nice shower, get dressed. You’ll feel normal soon enough. You got flip-flops?’ 

‘No. Do I need them? My commissary money won’t come through for another two weeks.’ 

‘There’s wicked fungus in the showers. You might need to get creative. Here, try do something with these. They’re ‘bout the only thing we got a large supply of.’ DeMarco threw a box of maxi-pads towards Luisa.  

* * *

 

Luisa entered the showers wearing a towel and flip-flops made out of maxi-pads strategically tied with black elastic bands. She was actually pretty impressed with the way they turned out.  

She was less impressed with the showers. They were dirty, cramped and hard to move around in. There was a woman speaking in rapid Spanish behind one of the closed stalls. Luisa understood the words, but that didn’t mean they made any sense to her. Nicky and Morello were …occupied in the corner. Nicky raised her head from her position inside of Morello’s thighs and gave Luisa a saucy wink. Luisa winked back. Morello was too blissed out to notice much of anything.  

* * *

 

After her shower, Luisa met with DeMarco and they went to the dining hall together. The room was still as crowded and overwhelming as the previous day, but now Luisa had the additional worry about Red’s inevitable retaliation to contend with.  

She reached the top of the line, and a small, thin woman with short brown hair singled her out and said, ‘Wait, Alver? Are you Alver?’ Without waiting for a response, she leaned behind the counter and pulled out a tray with a single item on it, wrapped tightly in tinfoil so that the casual observer couldn’t guess what was inside. ‘Red made that especially for you. Enjoy.’ 

Luisa felt dread coil in her stomach. Whatever this was, it couldn’t be good. She took the tray without complaint and followed DeMarco to a table where both Nicky and Morello were sitting. They seemed to be in a good mood after their time together in the bathroom.  

She began to slowly open the tinfoil. It revealed an ordinary-looking bread roll, with an odd bit of string hanging out of it. She opened the roll, and recoiled when she saw what was inside it. It was a tampon- a used one.  

Morello winced, ‘What did you do?’ 

Nicky answered for her, ‘She insulted the food in front of Red.’ 

‘It doesn’t look like you’re going to be eating for a while.’ 

* * *

 

Rose entered the dining hall a little before Luisa and took a seat next to some of her latest goons, out of sight of the main entryway. Judging by Luisa’s reaction to their encounter yesterday, she wouldn’t appreciate catching sight of her on her way to collect her breakfast.  

Despite what Luisa may think, she didn’t _deliberately_ get herself thrown into the same jail as her ex. It was more a happy coincidence. Rose had been blindsided by her capture, but hadn’t let it stop her for long. She got in contact with an acquaintance from her days as a lawyer. Annalise had worked her usual magic, leaving Rose languishing in what was perhaps the most incompetently guarded prison in America.  

She had already identified seven different escape routes. It’d be _so easy_ , to escape from this joke of a prison and be back running her empire in a matter of days. She’d been on the verge of doing it the previous night, but hearing of Luisa’s incarceration stopped her. She’d never intended for Luisa to get mixed up in this. It had been a moment of weakness- contacting Luisa, after she had successfully severed ties with the Solanos. But she’d missed her.  

Rose had never liked diverging from her carefully laid out plans. Neither had she ever been particularly prone to guilt. Luisa had always been the exception in both cases. She couldn’t just leave her here. Rose would stay until she knew Luisa was okay, or in an admittedly less likely scenario, willing to leave with her. 

Rose was jarred out of her thoughts by a commotion at Luisa’s table. She peered surreptitiously over. Luisa seemed to be considerably distressed. Her companions were torn between sympathy and amusement. Irritatingly, Rose couldn’t see what was causing the disturbance from this angle. She tapped one of her goons- Laura, Lauren, something- on the shoulder. She indicated towards Luisa’s table. ‘Go and see what the upheaval at that table is about. Subtly.’ 

She waited impatiently for her henchwoman to return. She raised an inquisitive eyebrow, feigning nonchalance, ‘Well?’ 

‘The newbie insulted Red’s food. Looks like Red’s gonna starve her out.’ 

_That_ wouldn’t do. Rose would have to do something, but covertly. She doubted that Luisa would welcome her intervention, but she couldn’t just let her starve. This ‘Red’ would pay.  

* * *

 

Luisa was panicking. She’d realised yesterday that there would be consequences to her mistake in the dining hall, but not that the retaliation would be so…blatant. _I should have_ , she thought despairingly, _people like Red don’t get to where they are without learning the value of fear_. She turned to Nicky, who had followed Luisa out of the dining hall and was wearing an expression that was half sympathy, half amusement. ‘What am I meant to do now? My commissary doesn’t come in for another two weeks, I can’t just not eat for the duration of that time!’ 

‘Commissary probably wouldn’t sell to you anyway. They don’t wanna be on Red’s shit-list.’ 

Luisa shot her an exasperated glare. ‘Not helpful.’ A thought struck her then. ‘You know Red well, right? You called her a maternal figurehead earlier. Could you speak to her for me?’ 

The earnestness in her voice was endearing, but Nicky knew better than to interfere with Red when she was in one of her vengeful moods. Besides, Red would call it off before it got too out of hand. At least, Nicky thought that she would. ‘It wouldn’t do much at this point. You just gotta wait it out, hope she cools off. Maybe do something for her.’ Nicky didn’t fancy Luisa’s chances of being able to outlast Red’s temper, herself. It had been a while since she had seen the older woman in such a rancour.  

Nicky slung an arm over her shoulder. ‘C’mon, I’ll show you to orientation. It’s bullshit, but entertaining bullshit. Might take your mind of things.’ 

At that moment, Luisa’s stomach rumbled loudly.  

Nicky smiled ruefully. The poor fucker had a hard couple of weeks ahead of her. ‘Or not. Let’s go.’ 

* * *

 

Orientation was indeed bullshit. First, the creepy guard from earlier gave a talk about violence in prison. Nicky had previously told her that he was known as Pornstache amongst the inmate population. Luisa thought that it was an appropriate name- his moustache _was_ disconcerting, and he positively radiated perviness. There was a manic look in his eyes as he gleefully demonstrated the ways in which inmates had killed themselves or others using various makeshift weapons.  

‘The women who made and used these items are now in the SHU or down at the max facility, with extra time on their sentences. Their lives are basically over.’ The way that people here kept talking about solitary made Luisa nervous. It was something she wouldn’t like to experience.  

After Pornstache had finished speaking, an attractive woman walked into the room. She was wearing a skirt-suit that displayed her long legs, as well as killer heels. Though she was attractive, there was an aura of falsity surrounding her. Her voice was _too_ smooth. 

‘…if you have any concerns, specifically regarding your needs as women, please come to me. I will handle them personally.’ There was something oddly familiar about her, yet Luisa couldn’t place her finger on it. 

Daya raised her hand, ‘I had a question, actually.’ 

Figueroa dismissed her with an uncaring wave of her hand. ‘Today I’m only here as a formality.’ 

It was _that_ little hypocrisy that jogged Luisa’s memory. She was Jason Figueroa’s wife. Luisa had seen the couple schmoozing with her father, hoping to gain donations from him for Jason’s campaign. If she remembered correctly, her father had been generous. _Interesting_ … She filed that nugget of information away for later, and settled down to endure the rest of orientation. 

* * *

 

That night, Luisa lay in bed. It had been over 24 hours since she had eaten anything. She’d gone this long before, when she’d had alcohol to fill her stomach instead of food. There were no such distractions this time, however, and she was hungry. It was not yet a gnawing pain, but she knew that that would follow. She needed to get this resolved, and soon. It didn’t help that Nicky was noisily eating a bag of pretzels across from her.  

‘I’d offer you one, but the walls have eyes and I’m not stupid.’ 

Miss Rosa piped up from below Luisa, ‘When I first got here, I had troubles like you. There was a disagreement,’ her voice dropped threateningly low as she said this. ‘Then we brawled. That’s how you settled things. And if I’d have won, I’d have been _la jefa_ _.’_ She snorted bitterly, ‘Instead of _this._ Thank god I got cancer. No one fucks with cancer.’ 

Hm. It seemed that Luisa’s options were fighting the scary Russian lady with a fiery temper, or get cancer. She’d keep thinking. 

* * *

 

Five days had passed. Luisa hadn’t had a thing to eat. As she woozily walked the halls in between activities, the looks that the inmates gave her had shifted from amusement at the stupid new girl to pity. Regular fluid intake helped, but not for long. The stabbing pain returned after a few minutes. She didn’t really have the energy to do anything other than lie in bed.  

An announcement blared on over the intercom. ‘All inmates expecting visitors report to C.O headquarters for preliminary searches.’  

‘Never understood why they bothered their asses with any of that shit. Why does it matter if we smuggle anything out?’ Spoke Nicky from the top bunk across from Luisa. She continued without waiting for response. ‘You think anyone’ll be there for you, Alver?’ 

She doubted it. Rafael hadn’t taken any of her calls. After a while, Luisa had stopped trying. It became clear that he didn’t want to speak to her. Despite that, she had awoken yesterday-the first day of visiting since she had been inside- with tentative hope. _Perhaps Rafael would be there_ , she’d thought. _Maybe he’d just been busy every time she’d rang_. He _was_ running a hotel and dealing with new fatherhood, she reasoned.  So she’d made her way to the C.O headquarters and endured yet another strip search, only to be told that there was no-one there for her.  

A part of her had broken then. 

She was therefore surprised when Wanda, the permanently bored and irritated sounding guard entered her room and barked, ‘C’mon Alver, get your ass in gear. You’ve got a visitor and they’re impatient.’ 

_Could it be?_ Luisa sat up quickly, and was immediately hit with a wave of dizziness. Her head spun as she stood up. Nicky noticed, and moved to give her support.  

‘No touching. You know this Nichols, c’mon, don’t make me write you another shot.’  

Nicky rolled her eyes. She looked at Luisa, silently asking if she was alright to stand. Luisa nodded surreptitiously, and did her best to repress her light-headedness.  

Wanda eyed her suspiciously. ‘She on something?’ 

Nicky covered for her. ‘Nah, she’s just excited to have a visitor. Contact with the outside world, ya know. It’s a big deal.’ 

‘Whatever. Get moving Alver. They’re waiting for you.’ 

* * *

 

Luisa was excited. Despite the dizziness that was still present in the back of her head, she made her way to the C.O headquarters as quickly as she could and with a spring in her step. _Rafael was here!_ Even if he hadn’t forgiven her yet, he was at least ready to talk! She endured the strip search with minimal irritation, too excited at the prospect of getting to see her baby brother. 

She entered the visitation room with a smile on her face, only for it to fall when she saw who was sitting at the only table unoccupied by another inmate. It was Petra.  

Petra was sitting at the filthy table with her arms crossed and a determined, business-like expression on her face. 

 Luisa was crushed that it was not Rafael at the table. The dizziness was returning again in force, as she found that she no longer had the willpower to supress it. She flopped down gracelessly into the chair across from Petra. ‘What are you doing here, Petra? 

Petra seemed somewhat concerned about Luisa’s less than thrilled demeanour, but pushed on. She had a reason for being here after all. She plastered a fake smile onto her face.  

‘How are you?’ 

Luisa sighed. She was tired, her very limited energy reserves depleted. She wanted to go back to her bunk and lie down. ‘Save it Petra. We talked maybe three times the entire five years you were married to Rafael. What are you doing here?’ 

Petra dropped the pretence and squared her shoulders. ‘Alright. The Marbella. You can hardly do anything with your shares while you’re in here. I want you to sign them over to me.’ 

Of course this was about the Marbella. When was anything not? The last time she could remember Rafael being remotely kind to her was when he was trying to swindle those **fucking** hotel shares out of her.  

‘Fine. Whatever. You can take them.’  

Petra was taken aback by the lack of fight in Luisa, and the confusion showed on her face. ‘Wait, seriously? You’re not even going to try and bargain for them?’ She re-examined the other woman. Her very posture was one of dejection, and her cheeks had this sunken in quality. Her once curvaceous figure had receded noticeably. Petra had grown up in Czech Republic after the fall of communism. There had never been enough to eat, and she knew the signs of starvation well. She felt an absurd swell of empathy for the other woman. 

She was unsure of how to display this empathy. She reached out a tentative, awkward hand towards Luisa’s shoulder, but was forced to pull away when the supervising guard reminded visitors of the no-touching policy. She settled instead for a more genuine, ‘Are you…doing okay? Really?’ 

Luisa sensed the sincerity behind her blundering tone. It was a question that she heard a lot from the inmates here, but with them she felt as if she had to put on a brave face. It was different with someone from the outside.  

She blinked, trying and mostly failing to hold back her tears. She sucked in a breath and admitted, in a quavering voice, ‘I haven’t eaten in five days. I was… _stupid_ when I got here and insulted the food in front of the chef.’  

Petra’s concern for the other woman deepened. ‘Is there… anything I can do? Call your lawyer, speak to someone in charge?’  

Luisa doubted any of that would help. If Red was kicked out of the kitchen as a result of a complaint that she made, there would be hell to pay. Forget being starved out, she’d be shivved in the showers.  

‘Could you…just talk to me? I really need a distraction right now.’ 

Petra, not normally a fan of idle conversation that didn’t serve one of her ambitions, was sceptical at first, but seeing the desperation on the other woman’s face, she eventually relented. After a few awkward topics, they eventually fell into a rhythm of easy conversation.  

An hour passed easily, and notification soon arrived that visiting hours were over. Other visitors began to hug their loved ones goodbye, and the awkwardness between Luisa and Petra returned. Petra wasn’t a fan of unnecessary public displays of affection, but she knew that the other woman was. _Does she expect me to hug her?_ _What was the protocol here?_ She moved to give Luisa an awkward pat on the shoulder, only to be pulled into a bone-crushing hug by the other woman.  

Petra wasn’t used to this kind of affection. Magda hadn’t exactly been big on hugs when she was a child, and when Petra came to America, her relationships often had a singular purpose- usually the acquisition of money. She’d never had the time to just… make a friend. But it was… nice. Once Petra had recovered from the initial shock and ceased flailing her arms around awkwardly, she relaxed into the hug and felt Luisa do the same.  

For Luisa, the hug provided a sense of cathartic relief. She had always been an affectionate person, and the lack of emotional contact with other people had been one of the hardest things about prison thus far. Petra’s visit had been a surprise, and although she had initially been disappointed that it was not Rafael sitting across from her, she was almost glad it had worked out this way. Luisa had never really been able to bond with Petra while the blonde had been married to Rafael. She had always been aloof and somewhat cold with her, though she had seemed to genuinely care for her brother. Perhaps that could change now.  

They pulled apart after the guards began to get antsy. Luisa smiled at Petra, and said ‘I’d better go. Prison life awaits. Although, could I call you? We’re allowed to use the phones here.’  

Petra grinned in response. It would be _nice_ to have someone to talk to. ‘Sure. I’ll… talk to you later.’ With that, they parted ways. 

* * *

 

For the past five days, Rose and her minions had been observing the Russian chef, learning her schedule and searching for any possible weaknesses to exploit. As much as Rose resented admitting it, Red had power here. She was frequently surrounded by people, and had a large entourage of loyal companions- most were kept loyal by the influx of little luxuries from the outside world, but others seemed genuinely devoted. Sufficiently intimidating her into relenting could prove difficult.  

It had to be done, however. Luisa looked worse every time that Rose saw her, which was increasingly less the more time passed. She spent large chunks of time in her bunk, only emerging at mealtimes as they were mandatory regardless of whether or not she received any food at them. As the daughter of a millionaire, it was unlikely that she had ever had to unwillingly go without food for any sustained length of time, and it showed.  

Waiting this length of time to resolve the situation frustrated Rose. She hated to see Luisa suffer. She had held out some vain hope at the beginning that Red would go easy on the other woman and there would be no need for her to get involved, but that had not happened. Now was the time to act.  

Red’s favourite freezer had broken down earlier that day, forcing Red to plan a large meal that would allow her to use the food before it defrosted. If her sources could be trusted, Red would be preparing for it alone in the kitchen tonight after lights out.  

She walked to the kitchen, making a conscious effort to mask her footsteps in order to have maximum impact when she decided to make her presence known. As her sources had suggested, the kitchen was deserted save for the older woman. Red currently had her back to Rose. Excellent.  

‘Hello Red,’ she purred, with a threatening smirk on her face.  Her target visibly jumped, but quickly composed herself and adopted a haughty air. ‘We haven’t yet had the pleasure. I’m Rose.’  

‘I know who you are. What are you doing in my kitchen?’ 

Rose walked over to the cabinet that stored the knives used for cooking. It had a combination lock on it. Thanks to the information that she had been gathering, Rose was able to unlock it. She examined the knives, and eventually selected the longest, sharpest one. She removed it from the cabinet and ran her finger along the blade, as if to emphasise its’ lethality. She began throwing it in the air and catching it by the handle with the ease of someone used to killing.  

Despite herself, Red was intimidated. She had been _careful_ about who had seen that combination. There were few people in this prison, or indeed _any_ prison, who were as dangerous as Rose Solano. However, Red had faced people in the past who came pretty damn close. She kept her head held high and maintained direct eye contact, refusing to be visibly cowed. 

‘I’m waiting. You’ve interrupted me from preparing tomorrow’s food.’ 

Rose smirked and drew closer to Red, knife still in hand. She was done playing. ‘I want you to stop whatever game you’re playing with Luisa and let her eat. Your little power play has gone on long enough.’ 

Red eyed the knife that the other woman was holding. She doubted that Rose would stab her here and now. It would be too messy, too likely to lead back to the one behind it. The threat, however, was real. There was nothing stopping her from manipulating one of her sycophants into doing the deed at a later date. Nevertheless, Red stood her ground. ‘She broke the rules. She has to suffer.’  

Rose’s eyes narrowed. Her voice became lower and more dangerous. ‘If you know who I am, then you also know what I do to people who cross me. It’s not a position you want to be in.’ 

Red signed internally and considered the other woman’s words. She could do without the trouble of fighting with the other woman. Prison turf wars were so _tedious_ _,_ and always resulted in innocents getting caught in the crossfire. Perhaps if she acquiesced to Rose’s demands, some sort of working relationship could be forged. She’d been planning on letting up on the new girl after another couple of days anyway. The other woman didn’t know that, however, so Red decided to use it to her own advantage.  

She allowed herself to shrug nonchalantly. ‘Fine, I’ll let her eat. But if I do that, you’ll owe me a favour.’ 

‘You’re not exactly in a position to make threats,’ said Rose, as she continued to brandish her stolen knife. 

‘By all means, stab me. It might get me off my feet for a few days. But if that happens, your girlfriend still won’t be fed.’ 

Rose reflected on Red’s earlier offer. She was pretty sure that if it came down to it, she could topple Red and become the de-facto ruler of the prison. But did she actually want to? Dealing with the day-to-day issues of the inmates that came hand in hand with ruling over them seemed like a lot of work that she wasn’t sure that she could be bothered with, especially given the fact that Rose didn’t plan on remaining in prison for long. Just as long as it took to make sure Luisa was okay. As much as she loathed being in anyone’s debt, she doubted that the favour Red would eventually ask of her would be anything too taxing.  

‘Alright. You drop your vendetta against Luisa, and I’ll owe you a favour in the future.’ She put the knife down, and extended a confident hand towards Red. ‘It seems we are allies. For the moment.’ 

Red took her extended hand. ‘Allies.’ 

* * *

 

Luisa awoke that morning feeling better than she had in several days, despite the searing pain in her stomach. Contact with people from the outside world had done wonders. She smiled at Nicky across the room, who was in the process of groggily waking up.  

‘Aw shit, we slept in too late. The shower line will be fucking long. Let’s just go to breakfast. What’re you looking so happy about?’ 

‘I enjoyed my visitation yesterday. It was nice, hearing about things outside of this place.’  

‘Good for you,’ Nicki replied, somewhat bitterly. Visitation was something of a sore spot for her. She sighed, ‘C’mon, let’s just get to breakfast. If Red doesn’t give you anything today, you can have some of mine. This shit has gone on long enough.’ 

She moved to help Luisa down from the bed. After six days without eating, the dizziness had made walking difficult. They made their way to the dining hall, bantering together along the way. 

‘So what’s the deal with you and Morello? I saw you guys together a couple of days ago, but doesn’t she have a fiancé?’ 

‘Man, I don’t have a fucking clue what’s going on between us. We’ve been screwing around pretty much since she got here, but she keeps talking about her fiancé. No one’s ever seen the guy, he hasn’t visited her since the first week and she’s been here over a year. For all I know, he doesn’t exist.’ Nicky sounded deeply frustrated, and eager to change the subject. ‘What about you and Sin Rostro? Rose? Whatever her name is.’ 

She sighed, ‘It’s kind of a long story.’ 

Nicky snorted, ‘We’ve got nothing but time here. This line ain’t moving any time soon.’ They had reached the dining hall, but the line for food was indeed very long. Luisa liked Nicky, and the other woman had just opened up to her about her own relationship woes. It seemed fair to do the same for her. Besides, after years of maintaining a secret relationship, it could be cathartic to open up to someone about it. Telling Detective Cordero had been difficult for her, but that had been because he had been somewhat eager to jump ahead to the parts that would aid in his investigation. No one had been interested in hearing the more intimate details of their relationship. 

‘Alright, I suppose I should start at the beginning. I was in a bar…’ 

* * *

 

Nicky let Luisa speak, interrupting occasionally to offer wry comments, but listened intently for the most part.  

When Luisa had finished, Nicky smirked and said, ‘Yup, that’s some first class dyke drama right there, Alver. So, you think you’ll be able to forgive her? You’re going to be in here together for a while, you won’t be able to avoid her forever.’  

Luisa groaned. ‘I don’t know.  I’m still **really** mad at her, but…’  

She was interrupted by a tray of food being shoved into her hands. Every other thought flew from her mind. ‘Here,’ muttered the woman from behind the desk. ‘Red had a change of heart.’ 

Luisa stared at the food in disbelief. It was the same bland food from before, but to a woman who hadn’t eaten in six days, it seemed a veritable feast. Nicky chuckled behind her. ‘C’mon, short stuff, you’re holding up the line. Let’s go eat.’ 

* * *

 

Rose watched the other woman receive her food with a soft smile on her face. Luisa had been shocked to retrieve her food at first, but then a delighted smile had lit up her face. Rose found it adorable, and thought that it was nice to see the other woman happy, for once. It also felt strangely good to be the source of that happiness, even if Luisa remained unaware of that fact. Tray in hand, the other woman went to join the people who were rapidly becoming her friends, laughing and smiling the whole way. 

Whatever task Red concocted for her, it would be worth it. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luisa is slowly adjusting to prison life, with the help of the friends she is making along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Major warning for transphobia. It's no worse than in oitnb canon (Figueroa actually says this shit) but still.  
> -A big thank you to everyone who commented and left kudos! I really appreciate it.

Luisa awoke that morning in a good mood. A week had passed since had started getting regular meals again and she had finally put back on the weight that she had lost during her involuntary starvation. Her commissary money was due to finish processing today, so she could finally explore the wonders of the prison’s sole shop, as well as repay people the things that she owed them. She had yet to be assigned to her permanent bunk- which, after nearly two weeks was a little ridiculous- but honestly, she quite liked sharing with the other women. It kept her from feeling too alone.

An announcement over the intercom interrupted her thoughts. ‘Dayanara Diaz report to her counsellor for roommate assignment.’

Daya promptly left the room to do as the announcement demanded. She seemed excited to be leaving.

Luisa turned to Nicky. ‘When do you think we’ll get assigned?’

The other woman furrowed her brow and shrugged. ‘I dunno, I’d’ve assumed that you’d have been in Harlem with Diaz. Maybe they’re putting you somewhere else.’

‘If not in Harlem, where would they put me?’

‘The ghetto or the suburbs. It’s probably a numbers issue or whatever,’ she paused, then changed the subject, ‘So you coming to the AA meeting later? I’ll be there, Rosa too.’

Although she hadn’t appreciated Healy’s casual mention of it in their first meeting, Luisa actually was planning on going. It may be a lot harder for her to access alcohol now that she was in prison, but it was still possible. Talking about it with people who understood would help. ‘Yeah, I think I will. Is it different from AA on the outside?’

Nicky considered her words. ‘Yes and no. I didn’t spend much time in AA on the outside, kind of why I’m in this fucking place. One thing that’s kinda different is that you know everyone in there from outside of meetings. Or you won’t yet, I suppose, but you will. Anyway, do you want to head down there together?’

‘I’ll meet you there. Just want to run to the bathroom.’

* * *

 

Still thinking on Nicky’s words, she wandered absentmindedly into one of the stalls with a missing door, only to find someone already in it. She was tall, with dark skin and perfectly maintained hair. And currently in the middle of using the bathroom.

‘Oh, I’m sorry! The door-’

‘It’s okay, honey, you can look. I spent a lot of money for it.’ She got up and flushed the toilet. ‘It’s all yours.’

‘I think I’ll wait for one with a door. I’m Luisa, by the way.’ She extended a hand to the other woman.

‘Sophia. You’ll be waiting a long time then; she’s speaking with the devil.’ She took Luisa’s extended hand and shook it.

Luisa smiled. ‘Yeah, I got that part.’

‘Of course, sorry.’ Sophia eyed Luisa’s feet, still equipped with flip-flops made out of maxi-pads. ‘Did your commissary not come in yet?’

‘It’s due some-time today, thank God.’

‘You’d better hope they have everything you need. They haven’t had powder foundation in medium dark for months. They also don’t carry a size 13, check it out,’ she indicated towards her feet. ‘Couture. I made them myself.’ She was also wearing make-shift flip-flops, though they were much more glamorous than Luisa’s.

‘Is that duct tape?’

Sophia nodded proudly. ‘Metallics are very in this season.’

‘That’s so creative!’

‘Thank you, I’ll see you around. Make sure to stop by my salon.’

 

* * *

 

Luisa wandered into the chapel, somewhat nervously. It was not a part of the prison that she had visited before, as she was not particularly inclined towards religion. Although, Nicky had told her with a conspiratorial grin and a wink that it was often used for… other activities due to the lack of cameras.

The room was laid out similarly to other AA meetings. The pews had been pushed back in order to accommodate a circle of chairs, some of which were already occupied. Luisa looked around. It looked as if the D.O.C hadn’t springed for doughnuts- powdered or otherwise. Figures.

She took a seat besides Nicky. Several of the inmates were familiar, others weren’t. She took a deep breath. _You got this_ , she thought. She _knew_ AA. She’d been going to meetings sporadically since her final year in med school. Though there may be some differences between standard meetings and those in prison, they were still ultimately the same thing. _You can do this._

A few more inmates trickled in over the next few minutes, until Miss Rosa said tiredly, ‘Alright, that’s pretty much everyone. We got some new faces, so how ‘bout a round of names?’

Everyone in the circle went around and said their names, some of them adding what they were in for and what they were addicted to.

Luisa was sitting near the end of the circle, so it took a while for her turn to come. To her right, Nicky said, ‘I’m Nicky. Heroin was my girl, and I got a fuckload of time for possession of it.’

Luisa took a shaky breath, and said with as much confidence she could muster, ‘My name is Luisa. I’m in for aiding and abetting a fugitive- it’s kind of a long story- and I’m an alcoholic.’

Rosa nodded. ‘Welcome everyone. Anyone want to kick this off by sharing their story?’

There was an awkward silence for a few moments while everyone waited for someone to begin speaking. Then, someone stood up and walked to the podium. She was young- couldn’t have been any older than twenty. Her blonde hair was styled into cornrows, and she had an unusual tattoo on her neck. She appeared nervous, but was trying to hide it with bravado.

‘So, most of you know me. I’m Trish. I lived with my mom most of my life, but then she re-married. The dude was a creepy prick. I got the hell outta there. Lived on the streets. I stole shit to keep going. I was always going to pay it back though. I got this book, I wrote down everything I took and one day I’m gonna pay it back.’ Her voice was so incredibly _earnest_ , something about it got to Luisa.

‘Anyway, life on the streets was hard, but I had a friend. Allie. She made it bearable. Helped when people yelled stupid shit at us, or tried to make us go over to their place,’ her brave smile dimmed at that, and twisted into a frown. ‘But then she got into one of those programmes to help get people off the streets. Got an apartment, was able to find a job. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy for her, but I was still on the streets. We lost contact after that.’ Her voice became truly melancholic then, losing its’ faux-confident veneer entirely. ‘Shit got really hard then. I was alone. It became real hard to say no when people offered drugs. So I didn’t. And then I ended up here.’

She sat back down. Some seemed surprised by her story, others didn’t. When she was sure that Trish had finished, Rosa thanked her for speaking and opened the floor to others. Several people spoke then. Not everyone had a rock-bottom story as dramatic as Trish’s, but they were still equally valid.

Despite the difficulty of the subject matter, hearing the others speak had re-assured Luisa. This was something familiar. Trish’s story was harrowing, but ultimately not something that was unheard of in AA. Luisa geared herself up to speak, and walked up to the podium.

She took a deep breath and smiled weakly at the circle of people in front of her. ‘My name is Luisa, and I’m an alcoholic. I started drinking some time in my mid-teens- small amounts, at first. Until it wasn’t. It reached the stage where I drunk though pretty much the entirety of med school. It wasn’t until I started turning up drunk on placement and endangering patient’s lives that I realised that I needed to make a change. I began going to AA after that. It wasn’t easy, and I relapsed a lot but I haven’t had a drink in almost three years.’ She exhaled shakily then. ‘Coming here has been difficult. During my sentencing, I felt really alone. My brother wasn’t-still isn’t- speaking to me, and I think just about everyone heard about my thing with Red.’ Most of the inmates gave her a sympathetic smile at that. ‘It took just about everything I had to stay sober. But, I think I’m doing better now. I’m adjusting, slowly. That voice in my head telling me to drink is still there, but it’s quieter than when I first got here. Thank you.’

Luisa returned to her seat. Telling her story for the first time to a group of new people was never easy. Nicky grabbed her hand and gave it a friendly, re-assuring squeeze.

* * *

 

Nicky and Luisa walked out of the meeting together. ‘How’d you find that?’

Luisa reflected on her answer for a moment. ‘It was good. A little intense in places, but really not too different from meetings on the outside. Speaking was of difficult, but it’s always that way with a new group.’

‘It’ll get easier. You’ll see people from the group around all the time, we look out for each other. Make sure no one’s slipping. It’s easier than the C.Os think to get a hold of drugs and shit in here. Anyway, I gotta go pick up my heart meds. Come with?’

Luisa nodded and linked arms with Nicky, her mood buoyed by the relative success of the meeting. ‘Sure. What’s the medication for?

‘I had open-heart surgery before I came here. Bacterial endocarditis. Still didn’t stop me from using till right before I was arrested.’

They joined the line at the pharmaceutical counter. Sophia was in front of them, and the she flashed Luisa a friendly smile. She seemed happy- her eyes were shining, and there was a certain positive energy in her overall demeanour. Luisa smiled in response.

Sophia reached the top of the queue and leaned in to receive her medication. The smile fell from her face as she examined the pills in the cup. ‘What are those? They aren’t my pills.’

‘They are now. The whole prison is going generic,’ replied the nurse, with a frustrated edge to his voice.

‘What’s the dose?’

‘.5 milligrams.’

‘That ain’t enough, I need four of those. You can’t just change my dose!’ Her voice was desperate and pleading.

‘Take it up with your counsellor.’

Sophia walked away, her expression torn between shock and fury. Luisa exchanged a worried glance with Nicky and, after a moment’s hesitation, followed her.

‘Sophia, wait. They’re seriously reducing your hormones? Are they doing the same with other inmate’s medications?’

Sophia snorted. ‘Looks like it. But could be that they’re cutting down on _non-essential_ medicines. They don’t have a fucking clue. I _need_ those hormones.’

‘Don’t they understand how _dangerous_ it is to just cut people off like that?’ The doctor side of Luisa was horrified at this latest revelation.

‘They don’t give a shit.’ She sighed and made an effort to blink away the tears rapidly forming in her eyes. ‘I’m gonna go to Healy, see if he can do anything about this mess.’

Luisa bit her lip, thinking back on her previous conversation with the man. ‘I don’t think that’s going to help. He’s too blinded by his prejudice. Even if a reasonable solution was given to him, he’d refuse it out of his own small-mindedness. We need to go higher up.’ A thought struck her then. ‘I have some dirt on Figueroa. Let me talk to her. It’s worth a shot.’

Sophia smiled slowly, some tentative hope entering her eyes. ‘I like the way that you think.’

* * *

 

Luisa sat nervously outside of Figueroa’s office. Caputo had been amused when she’d charged in to his office demanding to see his boss. She got the impression that her was allowing this for the sole purpose of irritating the other woman.

She didn’t like relying on her family name to coerce and manipulate others. It was something she’d seen her father and brother do for too long. It was the reason that she chose to go by Alver- her mother’s maiden name- as opposed to Solano. But this time, it might actually help people.

The door to the office opened, and Figueroa stepped out. She was wearing an ingratiating smile, obviously expecting an important visitor from the outside that she’d have to suck up to. It shifted into an irritated frown when she saw Luisa, dressed in her new beige prison jumpsuit and a determined expression.

‘What are you doing here? I’m a busy woman, I don’t have time to tend to every whim of every inmate.’

Luisa stood up, and did her best to appear business-like and intimidating. She thought of Rose, then. Rose had distilled intimidation and manipulation into an art form, although admittedly she didn’t often employ the former against Luisa. She tried to emulate her former lover. ‘I think you’re going to want to hear this. Mind if I come in?’ She indicated towards the office, then walked in without receiving an invitation, leaving Figueroa to follow behind her.

‘I’m here to talk about the recent changes that have been made to the medications of several inmates, namely Sophia Burset.’

Figueroa sniffed irritably. ‘We’re operating with a very strict budget. Cuts have to made, especially with non-essential items. There’s a bottom line to consider.’

‘I was a doctor. It’s very dangerous to abruptly change someone’s medication or hormone intake. It can lead to serious health problems.’ Fig remained unmoved, so Luisa, still reluctant to use her family name, tried to appeal to her more pragmatic side. ‘If an inmate were to fall ill as a result of a drastic change in medication, the D.O.C would be liable to pay the medical bills. I can guarantee that the cost of that would be significantly larger than paying for the medication in the first place.’

‘That’s a risk I’m willing to take. From what I gather, hospitalisation is a worse-case scenario. If he-, she-, _whatever_ wanted to maintain his girlish figure, he should have stayed out of prison.’

Luisa’s blood boiled at Figueroa’s words, and any reservations she had about the means she would go to in order to get Sophia her hormones flew out the window. She narrowed her eyes and adopted a faux-innocent tone, once again envisioning Rose. She tilted her head to the side, mimicking confusion. ‘Where have I seen you before? You seem really familiar. Hmmmmm….. Oh. I remember. You and your husband attended some of the parties my father threw. My father- Emilio Solano. He donated quite generously to your husband’s campaign, if I’m remembering correctly. Am I?’

Figueroa blanched, her face whitening.

‘I think I’m right.’ She tried her damnedest not to show any emotional reaction to the next part. ‘He died a few months ago, leaving my brother and I as heirs to his estate. It’d be an awful shame if those donations were to stop coming.’

Figueroa pursed her lips. ‘Fine. Inmate medications will be returned to their previous levels.  Is there anything else?’ She almost spat out the last words, as if they were causing her physical pain.

Luisa, feeling buoyed by her success, spotted a useful opportunity. ‘I’ll be getting my work assignment in a few weeks. I’d like it to be in medical, so I can ensure that conditions there are as they should to be.’

* * *

 

Luisa left Figueroa’s office with a sense of exhilaration and immense satisfaction. She’d achieved something worthwhile, and managed to secure herself a job in medical while she was at it. Today was a good day. She set off to find Sophia and break the news.

She found Sophia a few minutes later in the salon. The other woman was angrily sorting through her supplies, murmuring under her breath. Her posture was dejected, and she seemed on the verge of tears.

Luisa bounded in with a triumphant smile on her face, and Sophia sprang to attention. She took in the expression on the smaller brunette’s face, and asked cautiously, tentatively- as if she was trying to reign in her expectations- ‘Did you…?’

She nodded enthusiastically. ‘I talked to Fig, and she’s going to restore your hormones as well as everyone else’s medication back to what it was.’

Sophia let out a choked sob, a radiant smile breaking across her face. She threw her arms around the other woman in a tight hug.

Hugging Sophia was different to hugging Petra, perhaps because their history was less convoluted. She was taller, for one, and had to bend slightly in order to reach Luisa. Luisa could feel the relief radiating off the other woman.

They pulled apart after a few moments. ‘Thank you. It’s rare for someone to stand up for me like that. I got used to doing it for myself.’ She smiled again, and said in a lighter tone, ‘You swing round here any time, and I’ll sort out your hair free of charge.’

Luisa smiled. ‘I’ll take you up on that. I’m going to head to dinner now, do you want to come with?’

‘I’ll tidy up here first, might meet you there.’

Luisa nodded, and after exchanging another round of smiles with Sophia, left the salon in pursuit of dinner. It had most definitely been a good day.

* * *

 

Luisa waited in the line for food in the dining hall. Several inmates also in the line were speaking across her to have a conversation. She recognised some of them- Watson arrived the same day she had, and Taystee was in AA with her. The other woman in the group was short and slender; Luisa wasn’t familiar with her, though she had a feeling that she worked in the library.

Watson was complaining loudly about her new situation. ‘Man, new bunkie’s trying to lay down all these rules and shit.’

Luisa interrupted their conversation. ‘Wait, you got assigned? What dorm are you in?’

Watson seemed irritated by the interruption, but Taystee answered for her. ‘The ghetto. She with Miss Claudette. This is Poussey, by the way.’

Poussey smiled in greeting, then turned to Watson again and said, ‘Yo, girl, be careful messing with Miss Claudette. That woman is no joke.’

Watson scoffed. ‘What, is she gonna put some voodoo curse on me?’

‘Word is she killed someone,’ Interjected Taystee, ‘That’s why she doin’ so much time.’

Their conversation forced Luisa to consider her own future roommate prospects. It was possible that she too could end up sleeping across from a murderer. This didn’t bother her as much as it should have- she’d been unknowingly sleeping _with_ one for years, after all.

Speaking of, said murderer was sitting at an otherwise empty table in the centre of the dining hall. Luisa had seen Rose at several meals over the past two weeks, though usually her table was packed full of cronies, over whom Rose presided like a Queen. She still looked good. Prison hadn’t managed to dampen the confidence with which she carried herself; if anything, it had increased it. She wore the beige jumpsuit with the same self-assurance as she had that red dress on the first night that they had met. Luisa wasn’t used to the curly brown hair that the other woman was currently sporting, though she had to admit that it suited her. She’d love to run her hands through it….NO! She was mad at Rose, dammit.

Rose looked towards Luisa and smirked. _God, could she read minds now? I wouldn’t put it past her_. There was also something inviting about her smile; something that implored Luisa to come closer. She’d never been able to resist it. Luisa recalled Nicky’s earlier words then. _It’s true_ , she thought, _I won’t be able to avoid her forever. If I talk to her now, maybe we’ll be able to reach understanding_. With that in mind, Luisa retrieved her tray of food and walked in the direction of her former lover.

Rose’s smile widened as she noticed Luisa’s approach, though there was a surprised edge to it. She hadn’t been sure if the other woman would want to talk to her after such a relatively short span of time. Though perhaps she should have anticipated it; Luisa’s demeanour had changed dramatically since the starvation incident- not only was her figure as full as it had been pre-prison, but she also seemed… _happier_. She was adjusting to prison life, and had been interacting positively with several other inmates. Rose knew that Luisa had gone to her first AA meeting this morning, and had been tempted to send someone in to monitor how she coped with it, but ultimately refrained- she knew that AA meetings were important to Luisa, but something she liked to keep private. Though Luisa was generally open about her drinking, while they were together she had kept the ins-and-outs of the meetings to herself.

Rose also knew that Luisa had managed coerce Figueroa into changing prison regulations regarding the allocation of medical resources, as well as securing herself a job in the med bay. _That’s my girl_ , Rose thought. She’d always known that Luisa was capable of remarkable things when she put her mind to it, it was everyone else that constantly underestimated her.

Luisa placed her tray on the table directly across from Rose, a determined expression on her face. She could have a mature, adult conversation with Rose without falling into bed- or the nearest available camera free zone- with her. She needed this.

Rose made a conscious effort to eliminate all traces of surprise from her expression, and instead allowed her face to slide into its’ usual seductive smirk. ‘Well, it seems as if someone has decided to stop pretending I don’t exist. I saw your face up there,’ her voice acquired a playful lilt then, ‘Were you thinking about me?’

‘Stop it,’ snapped Luisa. ‘Just stop. You don’t get to talk to me like that.’ The smirk rolled off Rose’s face, a small but ever growing frown taking its’ place. She sat up straighter, and prepared herself to listen-really listen. Luisa took a deep breath. ‘When we were IM’ing a few months ago, it was easy to pretend that everything was normal- pretend that we just had a long-distance relationship, pretend that you were away for work, hell- even pretend that we were just cheating. But that was the problem. I was _pretending_. Being here, seeing you- I can’t keep doing that. I can’t look at your face and pretend that you didn’t sell drugs, didn’t kidnap my nephew, didn’t _kill my father_.’

The heartbreak in Luisa’s voice was palpable. Rose wasn’t sure how to deal with it. She had been pretending one way or another most of her life. It had become natural to her, a comfortable second skin. Honesty was almost a foreign concept to her. She wanted to try though, for Luisa. Awkwardly, she began, ‘I regret that. I regret hurting _you_.’ Well, the latter was true at least. Some measure of confused surprise showed on Luisa’s face. Rose saw this, and continued on in sultry whisper, ‘But I love you, Luisa. I have always loved you.’

Luisa’s confusion deepened, and she couldn’t resist asking, ‘Why are you talking in that creepy voice?’

Rose let out a frustrated sigh and whined, ‘That wasn’t supposed to be creepy, it was supposed to be sexy. See, I don’t even know how to talk to you anymore, you make me so nervous!’

Luisa snorted incredulously. ‘Oh I make you nervous?

‘Yes! You’re the only person that I have ever felt this way about.’ Rose’s voice became more confident then, and she inclined her head upwards slightly, ‘and you fell in love with me too.’

Luisa was startled by the honesty in Rose’s tone. It was something that she had seldom heard from the other woman. Rose had always been vague about her past and her emotions. _Probably a necessity for someone whose life was built around duplicity and subterfuge_ , Luisa thought bitterly. The honestly, though, was something that she could get used to. And she had been- _fuck it, if this is honesty hour_ \- **was** **stil** l in love with Rose. _But did that change anything?_

Luisa forced her face to harden, ‘It’s just that you killed my father.’

‘We’re going around in circles here.’

At that moment, Sophia entered the dining hall. She walked with a bounce in her step, still on a high from her earlier news. She scanned the hall for Luisa and grew concerned when she laid eyes on the other woman- she seemed distressed, her posture radiating confusion and anger. Sophia made a beeline for the table, and sat down next to Luisa.

‘Is everything okay here?’ She directed her question towards Luisa, and shot Rose a glare. Rose was shocked. People rarely had the gall to openly challenge her, usually preferring to meekly carry out her orders else avoid her entirely. Although…she was glad someone else was looking out for Luisa.

Luisa was grateful for the intervention. Though she had initiated this interaction, she needed to get away. She felt drained. She wanted space and time to process this. She smiled gently at Sophia, ‘I think I want to get out of here, though.’

Sophia squeezed her shoulders. ‘Sure honey, Come on.’

She spared a final glance at Rose, then left the hall.

* * *

 

Luisa wasn’t sure what to think about her encounter with Rose. She’d meant what she said to the other woman- she was angry, and couldn’t pretend otherwise anymore. Rose had hurt her badly, as well as the people closest to her.

But Luisa missed her- couldn’t stop missing her. For a long time, Rose had been someone she could turn to, be herself around. She had supported her throughout her various stints in rehab, when Luisa’s own friends and family had dismissed her. The biggest problem in their relationship- aside from you know, the murder thing, but that was later- was that Rose was rarely honest about her own feelings, usually preferring to distract her with sex in place of talking about them. Upon reflection, Luisa realised that Rose’s refusal to divorce Emilio was less about her feelings for her than it was the fact that she was running an illegal plastic surgery ring out of his hotel. Luisa wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

But now, Rose had finally been honest. They were the words that Luisa had wanted to hear for years. _But was it enough?_ She sighed.

‘You okay?’ enquired Sophia.

‘I don’t know.’

Sophia looked at her sympathetically. She wasn’t aware of the nuances of this particular situation, but she knew relationship drama when she saw it. ‘You wanna go to the salon and talk about it? We’ll have some privacy there.’

Luisa considered her offer. It might be helpful to talk about it- it had been when she’d vented to Nicky. She smiled up at the other woman. ‘Sure.’

* * *

 

_Wow_ , thought Sophia as Luisa finished her story, _there’s relationship drama, then there’s **that**_ **.** She could tell that the other woman had needed this. Earlier in the dining hall, her discomfort and confusion had been obvious, but as she talked about it Sophia could see those feelings fall away.

She put a hand on her shoulder. ‘This is clearly a difficult thing for you to deal with, but you don’t have to do it all at once. Take some time, reflect on what you think is best for you.’ She paused, and thought through her next words carefully. ‘One way or another, people will try and tell you what you should do- leave her, get back with her, whatever, -but don’t let them force you into anything. Do what feels right. You just gotta figure out what that is first.’

Luisa pulled Sophia in for a hug for the second time that day. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘You’ve really helped me.’

Sophia smiled warmly. ‘Anytime. After what you did for me, relationship advice is the least I can do. Hey, why don’t you go take a shower? They’re usually quiet at this time, most people are still at dinner. It might relax you.’

‘I think I’ll do that.’

* * *

 

Luisa walked into the bathroom, which was deserted save for one person who was wrapped in a towel, having just come out of the shower. Shit- it was Rose. She was still as beautiful as ever. Her dark hair had become frizzy due to the water- it was similar to the night that she had visited her in the mental institution. She had fond memories of that particular visit… _No. Stop_ , she thought, _you’re trying to figure things out. Thinking about mind-blowing sex with your ex won’t help you make an unbiased decision._

Luisa tried to make a swift exit; though she was feeling better after her talk with Sophia, she wasn’t sure that she was up for talking to Rose. Too late. Rose turned her head and spotted her. _It’s like she has some kind of sixth sense for catching me when I’m having inappropriate thoughts about her_ , Luisa groaned internally.

She smiled awkwardly at the other woman. Rose smiled back, somewhat cautiously. She wasn’t sure what Luisa would be comfortable with after their altercation in the dining hall. She took a tentative first move, ‘I’m in here most days at this time. Steer clear if you want to keep avoiding me.’ She swallowed. ‘I get it if you want to keep doing that. I’ll keep my distance and let you serve your time in peace, if that’s what you want. But,’ she hesitated then, and some of her confident façade slipped away, ‘I’d like to give us another chance. I love you, Luisa, and I think you still love me. We could be happy together, and not have to hide- aside from the guards, obviously, but that’s child’s play. What do you say?’

Luisa’s face grew softer as she listened to Rose’s words, and allowed herself to imagine the life that she was promising. She _wanted_ that, God how she wanted it. Rose was the love of her life. But could she enter a relationship with the ghost of everything Rose had done hanging over her?

 ‘I do love you. I always have. There’s no point denying that. But I need time to think about whether we can still be in a relationship after…everything.’ Luisa was reluctant to re-hash it again and besides, she thought that Rose had gotten the message if her reticent beginning was anything to go by.

Rose smiled sadly and nodded. ‘I understand. However long you need.’

Luisa took a step closer to Rose and brushed an errant strand of hair out of her face, then pressed a kiss to her cheek.

 Rose closed her eyes. When she opened them again, Luisa was gone. She could still feel the sensation of Luisa’s lips on her cheek. She raised her hand to her face, and smiled softly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Luisa gets her room assignment, receives a visit that is painful for both sides and helps a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Sorry I took so long to update this, I had some personal stuff going on that kind of drained my motivation. Also, one scene was really difficult for me to write.  
> -Big thank you to Caoimhe for editing, and also to Anna for helping me decide Rose's roommate :)  
> -Enjoy!

After her talk with Rose, Luisa returned to her room and pondered her situation. One brief kiss and she could feel her resolve to stay away from her crumbling. _Damn it_ , she thought, _why am I so weak when it comes to pretty women?_

But did it change anything? She’d meant what she’d told Rose; she needed time- time to figure out if she could move past the things that Rose had done. That didn’t just go away because of one semi-civilised conversation in a bathroom.

Luisa’s thoughts were interrupted by one of the guards entering the room and announcing, ‘Alver! Get your things together. You’re moving down to B dorm. Cube 18.’

She sat up. Her roommate assignment was something she’d been looking forward to with a mixture of anticipation and worry. What with the enforced sleep hours, she’d be spending a lot of time with whomever she’s been assigned to. It could be a good thing if she was put with someone she’d get along with, but she’d also heard some horror stories during her short time here.

DeMarco looked surprised at the announcement. ‘They got you in the ghetto. Good luck.’

Luisa hurriedly packed her few possessions, and followed the guard out the door. She’d miss that room, particularly the people in it- returning to them at the end of every day, waking up with them in the mornings- it had had a stabilising effect. She hoped that she’d be able to achieve that with her new roommate.

As she walked into B dorm, possessions in hand, the first thing that struck her was that it was noisy, what with most of its occupants having returned for lights out. It was a jarring shift from the relative quiet of her previous lodgings. Inmates milled about, some laughing, others shouting and more merely talking. Luisa scanned the numbers on the sides of the cubicles, and finally found number 18.

The cubicle was remarkably tidy and well-kept, a clear contrast to that of most inmates’. All objects were precisely arranged, presumably by the woman standing in the corner, bending over…something. She turned around when Luisa entered the cubicle, and stared for a few moments, as if sizing her up.

She was an older woman, and most of her tightly cut hair was grey. She pointed sternly towards the other side of the cubicle, ‘That’s your bed,’ and then upwards to the wall, where there were four hooks for hanging clothes, two of which were unoccupied. ‘These are your hooks. I am nobody’s cleaning lady and I make honour cube every week, so you do your part and then some. My floor is my pride, so no shoes. Leave them off before you get in.’ Her voice became particularly hard on the last part. She reminded Luisa of the strict matrons that she used to see on tv as a child. She felt an inappropriate urge to laugh, but managed to hold it in, knowing that it wouldn’t do her any favours. She bent down to remove her shoes as instructed.

Her roommate continued on. ‘And I saw that drama that went down in the cafeteria. I don’t care if you’re gay or what, but if you bring any of that drama in here and we’ll have trouble. I don’t tolerate foolishness in my bunk, understand?’

Luisa placed her possessions onto her bunk, and extended her hand towards her roommate. The other woman glared at the unorganised pile. Luisa noticed her displeasure, and said contritely, ‘I’ll clean that up now. I’m Luisa. Alver.’

 

The other woman took her hand and shook it firmly. ‘You can call me Miss Claudette.’

_Miss Claudette? As in the woman Watson and Taystee were talking about earlier? This…should be interesting._ Luisa decided then that it would be in her best interests to co-operate with the other woman, so she set about organising her few accumulated belongings.

* * *

 

Her first night in the dorms was… strange. She’d grown accustomed the whirring of DeMarco’s heart machine easing her into unconsciousness. That was absent here, and was instead replaced by a cacophony of snores from the other inmates.

Luisa eventually fell into a fitful sleep, her dreams plagued by thoughts of Rose as much as the new environment. She didn’t know what to do. She was still in love with Rose. There was no point denying that anymore. But the things that Rose had done- to her, to her family- there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t do that again. Rose’s words in the cafeteria had been surprising and definitely a positive development, but she needed something more- some kind of commitment, something that would prove that she was at least willing to try to take a step in another direction.

She could hear the noise of other inmates getting out of bed and beginning their day, some with more enthusiasm than usual. It was a pattern that Luisa had noticed- people often seemed more upbeat on visiting day. Personally, she hadn’t really felt it since that first week. Petra’s visit had been an unexpected surprise, and the subsequent phone calls were a comforting anchor to a world that often felt far away. She’d said in her last one that she’d try to make it down this week if the twins weren’t being too difficult. And there was always the vague hope that Rafael would turn up. There would be no harm in checking.

She made her way out of the cubicle, only to notice Trish- the young woman she recognised from AA- approach it, seemingly intent on talking to Miss Claudette. She seemed somewhat frazzled, though she was trying to hide it with bravado. Luisa managed to catch the attention before she entered the cubicle. ‘Hey, Trish! It is Trish, isn’t it? Are you okay?’

The other woman tried to smile brightly, but wasn’t convincing enough to fool anyone really looking. ‘My girl, Mercy, she’s getting out. Got her letter.’

‘That’s a good thing, isn’t it?’

‘Course,’ replied Trish. ‘I was wonderin’ in Miss C could make her a cake.’ Trish _was_ happy for Mercy, though in truth, she was afraid of being abandoned again. Allie leaving her had hit her hard, and she didn’t want the same thing to happen again with Mercy. Maybe if she made her send-off extra special, Mercy would remember to wait for her.

Luisa smiled at Trish. ‘Good luck with that. If it all comes together, I’m sure Mercy will love it. I’m about to head off to visitation, but if there’s anything I can do later?’

Trish smiled, more genuinely this time, though her worry hadn’t abated. ‘Thanks. I’ll see you around.’

Luisa continued her walk to the visitation room, once again consumed with hoping that someone would be waiting for her on the other side of the table. She really had been enjoying her conversations with Petra, and had a feeling that the blonde also relished having the opportunity to talk to a non-antagonistic adult in return. She’d been having problems bonding with the twins, and had admitted that her previous visit had been a way of throwing herself back into work as a form of avoidance. She’d been doing better- slowly. When she spoke of Anna and Elsa over the phone, her tone of voice had begun to change. She could speak of them more positively now, and seemed excited by it. Luisa was proud of her.

She endured the mandatory strip search with minimal irritation- it was disconcerting how quickly a person could get used to them when they had to undergo them regularly- and stepped into the visiting room. She scanned the room for any sign of Petra, or even Rafael. Neither were present. Instead, sitting on the other side of the visitors’ table and wearing a determined though somewhat vulnerable expression- was Jane.

Luisa was shocked, to put it mildly. She’d had very little interaction with the other woman since the whole ‘accidental artificial insemination’ thing. It had been a little awkward, to say the least. _What on earth was she doing here?_

Jane had rehearsed this conversation. She’d been seeing a therapist (very well reviewed, of course) after Mateo’s kidnapping, and she’d recommended speaking to the people in her life that had caused her stress over the past few months. There was no way in hell she’d speak to Rose, at least not at this point- she’d only just stopped seeing her face in any woman that looked vaguely like her- so Luisa was the next best thing. And, in a way, this had all began in her examination room.

So Jane had done what she does best, and planned. She’d roleplayed with her mother (who was too sceptical to be of much help), her father (who got a little too involved- she probably should have anticipated that when he turned up wearing a costume with a make-up crew in tow) and Rafael (who was bizarrely bad at putting himself in his sisters’ shoes), and eventually decided that she was ready to do this.

Now, face to face with the other woman, she wasn’t so sure.

Luisa slid warily into the seat across from Jane, and said tentatively, ‘Hi, I guess?’

This snapped Jane out of her reverie, and she focused once again on her reasons for being here. _Inala, Exhala._ ‘Okay. So. Hi. I know we’ve not really spoken since, you know, the insemination, but I’ve been seeing a therapist since the kidnapping- which I also want to talk to you about, by the way.’ Jane thought it’d be easier to first discuss the insemination, which she’d mostly gotten over, before moving on to more difficult topics. ‘And she recommended that I come talk to you, since a lot of my problems- not that Mateo’s a problem, at least, not any more- began that day in your office.’ She said all of this quickly, scarcely pausing to take a breath, as if the courage may leave her if she hesitated.

Luisa sat back in her seat, her curiosity satisfied somewhat. After the insemination, she’d expected some kind of confrontation with the other woman, but it never came. _I can help her with this_ , Luisa thought. She avoided thinking of the fact that Jane also wanted to speak about the kidnapping, and inevitably Rose. She could barely untangle her own thoughts about that, never mind help others with it.

She nodded to Jane. ‘Okay, where do you want to start?’

‘Okay, I know you were going through a difficult time that day, and I know that it did work out for the best in the end, but the fact remains that you really-,’ she paused for a second, trying to choose the right word, ‘-derailed my life that day. I grew up with a single mom, and I love her, but it’s not a life I ever wanted for myself. I was careful- you probably know this. I had a plan, and I _really_ wanted to see it through. I’ve obviously learned since then that things don’t always work according to plan, and god knows I don’t regret Mateo, but the fact remains that you took my freedom to choose for myself out of my hands. I think I deserve an apology for that.’

Luisa sat and listened to Jane carefully, and waited until the other woman was finished speaking to respond. She made a concentrated effort to inject her voice with as much sincerity as possible. ‘I _am_ sorry. Really. I know this wasn’t what you planned, and I took the choice away from you. I know my personal reasons don’t excuse anything. Routine has always helped me deal with things, but I shouldn’t have seen patients that day. I know that know, and I’m sorry.’

Luisa meant every word. She’d been trying to throw herself into routine and distract herself from Allison’s infidelity, but it hadn’t worked. _Instead I fucked everything up_.

Jane appreciated the honesty in her tone, and the two began discussing their feelings about the insemination in greater detail. Though the tone of their conversation was a lot less confrontational, Luisa’s anxiety continued to mount. She knew what Jane wanted to talk about next.

Sure enough, the other woman eventually moved the conversation towards Mateo’s kidnapping and Rose’s involvement in it. Judging by the sudden hitch in her voice and the glassy quality of her eyes, Jane was as reluctant to discuss this as Luisa.

It was one thing to think about the things that Rose had done in the abstract, but quite another to face another victim.

Jane took a shaky breath, and began to speak. Her voice was softer than earlier, and her words sounded less prepared. This was the part that she’d found difficult to rehearse with her family.

‘Although it went against my plan, I do love Mateo. I realised that maybe halfway through the pregnancy. His birth should have been one of the happiest days of my life, and for a couple of hours, it was. I had this little, perfect person- who was mine, _somehow_ , and I loved him so much. But    then-,’ she broke off, some errant tears breaking away.

‘-But then, he was taken away from me. He was _stolen_ from me. From Rafael. It felt- it felt like a part of my heart that I only just learnt that I had had been ripped away. And _your_ girlfriend did that to me-to us. I want you to be in his life, and I think he’d want that too.’

Luisa felt sick. This…was more than she could handle at the moment. She could feel tears streaming down her cheeks, but couldn’t remember summoning them. Across from her, Jane was in a similar state.

She gulped, trying and mostly failing to get a handle on her emotions, and continued on. ‘You’re Mateo’s aunt. I didn’t grow up with a big extended family; it was just me, my mom and my abuela. And there was _absolutely nothing wrong with that_ , but I want more for Mateo. I want him to have aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents- everything.’

Luisa nodded vigorously. ‘I’d like that too.’ She’d always wanted a relationship with her nephew, but things between her and Rafael had been too strained in recent months for that to happen.

‘I wasn’t finished. I can’t let that happen if you continue to see Rose. She’s caused too much harm to too many people. She’s dangerous, and I won’t let her anywhere near Mateo ever again. Not if I can help it. Think about it- your sentence isn’t that long. You could get out and have a fresh start, away from Rose, and everything bad that comes with her. Call me when you make a decision. Because I mean it- if you stay with Rose, there won’t be any place for you in Mateo’s life, and Rafael agrees with me. So you need to choose Luisa: it’s us, or Rose.’

With that, Jane left. Luisa sat alone at the visitation table, and put her head in her hands. _What a mess._ That conversation had leached the energy out of her; all she wanted to do now was return to her bunk and brood. The future that Jane had presented was tempting. For months after Rose’s initial betrayal, it had been all she’d wanted. But now, she doubted any of it would be that easy even if she did sever ties completely with Rose. Especially after weeks of radio silence from Rafael.

Her increasingly melancholic thoughts were interrupted by a gruff command from the guard in charge of supervising visitation, ‘Alver! This isn’t a rec room, if your visitor has left, get back to the dorms before I give you a shot.’

Luisa got up and exited the room, doing her best to avoid the awkward stares of the other inmates and visitors as she left. She was lost in her own thoughts as she made her way back to the dorms, and consequently almost ran into Trish on her way into Cube 18.

‘I’m sorry- wait, are you okay?’ The younger woman was jumpy, and looked about as bad as Luisa felt. Her face revealed tell-tale signs of tears, and she was clutching her neck as well as breathing heavily.

Trish tried to flash Luisa a brave smile, but it fell remarkably short. When she tried to open her mouth to speak, tears flooded her eyes again.

Noticing the blonde’s distress, Luisa shoved her own dark thoughts aside for the moment and asked, ‘Do you want to step outside? I think the yard’s still open. We can talk.’

The younger woman considered Luisa’s offer for a few moments. In her experience, offers of help rarely came free of charge. But then she remembered hearing from the other woman in AA, and figured she might understand more than most in here. It was that or take the drugs she’d tried to plant on Mercy.

She nodded tentatively. ‘Okay. Let’s go.’

* * *

 

Luisa and Trish walked out to the yard. It was reasonably quiet- most inmates were still in visitation, or otherwise enjoying their leisure hours. The blonde was still jumpy, and seemed to be struggling with where to begin. After the exhausting conversation Luisa had just had, she wasn’t in much of a position to help her, so she simply waited for the other woman to get it out on her own. It was probably more useful to her than inane questions, anyway.

After some time, Trish found the words. ‘I tried to plant drugs in Mercy’s locker. To stop her from leaving. Miss C caught me at it. And shit, I’m glad she did. I just didn’t want to say goodbye to her, you know?’

Luisa did know. She’d said goodbye to Rose more times than she could remember, and every time had been hard. ‘Yeah, I do know. But it is a good thing that she stopped you. Mercy would have been sent to max, and I know you don’t want here there.’

Trish nodded, tearing up again. ‘I just- I know Mercy’s too good for someone like me. On the outside, she could have anyone she wanted. She’ll forget about me.’

‘I don’t know Mercy very well,’ _or at all_ , she thought to herself, ‘but I’m sure that she cares about you. When do you get out?’

‘Two years. I had a shitty lawyer, and I’ve been trying to write an appeal so I can get out and join her but I’ve never been good at words and shit.’

A thought struck Luisa then. She was no lawyer, but she knew someone who was. She hadn’t wanted to face Rose this quickly, particularly not after her trying conversation with Jane, but Trish needed help. Desperately, it seemed. She’d heard that Rose had been assigned to laundry. She couldn’t imagine her being happy with that, so she would probably relish the distraction.

Luisa offered Trish what she hoped was a comforting smile, and said, ‘I have an idea.’

* * *

 

Rose sat in a quiet corner of the library, catching up on some reading. Her goons knew better than to distract her during her leisure time, so while there was no-one around she relaxed her posture and allowed herself to be absorbed in her book. She’d loved the exhilaration of running a multi-million dollar drug enterprise followed by an illegal plastic surgery ring, but it hadn’t left a lot of time for other hobbies.

She was just getting into it when she sensed someone approaching her from behind. _Can’t they handle anything on their own_ , she thought as she turned around in irritation, a harsh reprimand on the tip of her tongue. She paused when she noticed who it actually was.

It wasn’t one of her henchwomen at all, but rather someone she’d seen hanging around with Luisa. She had shaggy blonde hair and an amusing swagger- Nichols, she thought her name was. She was a pretty close member of Red’s group. Rose was intrigued. Few outside of her own circle of cronies would come near her directly, never mind with such…swagger.

‘You havin’ a little Barnes & Noble moment?’ For her own part, Nicky was maybe the smallest bit scared. _You’d have to be a fuckin’ idiot not to be_ , she thought. She’d heard of some of the shit that the other woman had pulled. But she wanted to talk to her, try to figure her out. For Luisa.

She wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that, but decided to go for something sarcastic and vaguely threatening to remind the other woman that she was still in control here. ‘Thought I’d take a break from my associates for a while. Their incompetence can be pretty exhausting you know.’ She shrugged then, as if to emphasise her point.

This was actually a complaint Nicky had heard frequently from Red. Instead of intimidating her by reminding her of the people willing to do her dirty work, Rose had provided a bizarre comfort to Nicky. This was familiar territory, and gave her a better idea of how to proceed. She slid into the seat next to Rose without waiting for an invitation.

‘Terrifying. Really,’ she said sarcastically, with a smile on her face. She pointed at the book Rose had put down. ‘That any good?’

Rose frowned. She wasn’t used to her intimidation tactics failing. ‘Most know better than to interrupt me when I’m here. What do you want?’

‘Okay then, no bullshit. I like that.’ She took a moment to consider her next words carefully. ‘What’s going on with you and Luisa? She’s told me her side, I want to know yours.’ Nicky had come to see Luisa as a friend in the few short weeks that they’d known each other. She didn’t want to see the other woman hurt, and figured that sussing out Rose’s perspective on the whole thing would be a good place to start.

Rose almost replied that there was nothing going on between her and Luisa out of sheer habit, but stopped herself. She’d seen Nicky with Luisa several times, and they _did_ appear to be friends. If she wanted a relationship with the other woman in the future, she should probably start making an effort to be- if not nice (she didn’t do _nice_ ) then at least _cordial_ \- with the people that she cared about.

She made a concentrated effort to keep her voice neutral. ‘What do you want to know?’

Nicky was surprised at her answer. She’d half expected the other woman to shut down completely and make her leave. Boo- Rose’s assigned bunkmate- had warned her that she could be kinda…prickly. Maybe a superficial question would be best first. ‘So, how’d the two of you meet?’

Rose wasn’t used to talking about Luisa, or even her feelings in general. The nature of their relationship in the past had demanded secrecy, and she was hardly going to have maudlin chats about her emotions to people that she was trying to intimidate into doing criminal activity for her. She wasn’t sure how to proceed here.

‘I suppose that you’ve been told of the things I’ve done. I met her for the first time in a bar, just before I married her father…’

Rose continued in this vein for some time, Nicky occasionally interrupting with questions, slowly guiding her story from a simple narration of events into something more emotional. When Luisa had told her about their relationship, she’d been distracted by the negative. Now, knowing all the facts, she as able to look at it more critically. She thought that Rose did love Luisa, in her own way. _But that doesn’t matter,_ she thought. _What matters is whether or not she’s willing to put her first this time_. Judging by the fact that she was even willing to talk to her about something so personal led Nicky to tentatively think that she might be. Still, she thought she’d be weary of her for some time yet.

Luisa arrived in the library just as Nicky and Rose were winding down their conversation. She paused when she saw them together- _what could they be talking about?-_ but soon shook her momentary confusion off and focused on the task at hand. Trish needed her to come through with this. And besides, her relationship with Rose was already fraught enough without adding new suspicions to the list.

She approached the table where the two women were sitting. Upon noticing her, Rose shifted a little nervously. She’d deny it if you ever asked, but Luisa had always possessed the ability to fluster her. When she thought about idea, Luisa realised that the fact that she was a notorious criminal probably made this all the more impressive. She’d take what victories she could.

Rose smiled carefully in her direction, happy to see the other woman, but also apprehensive of what this next confrontation might bring. ‘Hi. Is everything okay?’ She did her best to dispel her usual shield of arrogance, since Luisa hadn’t been responding all that well to it lately. Nicky snorted at her conciliatory tone. Rose shot her a glare, and the other woman held up her hands in mock-surrender.

‘Fine, fine. I’ll give you two lovebirds some privacy.’

Luisa waited for Nicky to leave before speaking. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her, but she knew that the other woman knew Trish, and she wasn’t sure if Trish would want anyone else to know that she was trying to get help. ‘I’ll be honest. I still haven’t made up my mind about…everything. But I need your help. Or, a friend of mine does, anyway.’

Rose inclined her head in interest. ‘I’m listening.’

‘I have a friend whose girlfriend is getting out in a couple days, and she wants to see if she can get her sentence appealed so she can join her. I took a quick look over her appeal letter, and I’m no lawyer, but it’s… a mess. To put it kindly. I know you haven’t practiced law in a long time, but I was wondering if maybe you’d take a look over it for her. And me.’ She added that last part quietly, almost as an afterthought.

Rose considered the other woman’s offer. This obviously meant a lot to Luisa if she was willing to come to her about it before she was ready to deal with… whatever was still between them. She could do her this favour. And besides, writing a decent appeal letter might be a reasonable mental stimulant. She nodded. ‘I’ll do it.’

Luisa smiled genuinely at Rose in gratitude, and reached out to squeeze her hand briefly. ‘I’d better go tell her the news. Thank you.’

With that, she left, leaving Rose to think on the series of exchanges that had just occurred. She had sort of _enjoyed_ her conversation with Nicky. She was very unused to talking about her feelings in any grand sense, so it had been awkward at first- she’d never exactly been a people person- but she’d never been able to confide in anyone like that before with the exception of Luisa, and her secrets had stopped her from being entirely honest then. It had been almost… cathartic. Rose had heard of others using that word to describe interactions with people before, but had never understood the appeal. Now… it was all very strange.

And Luisa. That smile she had given her… it had always been her weakness. She’d often been willing to do anything to see more of it. Writing an appeal letter was hardly a big ask. _Ugh, when did I become so emotional? Despicable._

* * *

 

Several days passed, and more and more inmates began helping with the preparations for Mercy’s leaving party, which was due to start any minute. Luisa and Nicky were currently decorating the rec room with party streamers, made out of any extra material they could find knocking about the prison. Many of the attendees had made some kind of donation in the form of food, either from the kitchens or commissary. For the most part, everyone seemed happy- if a little jealous- that someone was getting out.

 The exception was Trish. She had initially been thrilled that Rose was helping with her case, but her enthusiasm had dimmed as the date of Mercy’s departure drew nearer. She’d learned from hard experience that it wasn’t smart to rely on others for help. Though she was currently putting on a brave face, both Nicky and Luisa could tell that she was rattled, and having a hard time from keeping her distress from showing. That appeal needed to pass, or she’d get herself into some serious trouble.

Just when they were finished setting up, more people began to mill into the rec room to say their goodbyes. Trish went to stand beside Mercy and took her hand while they watched the speeches that people prepared.

Taystee went first, and began to not just speak but to _perform_ her goodbye. As she was about midway through, Rose appeared in the rec room and made her way quietly over to Luisa.

‘I finished the letter. Here,’ she handed Luisa several pieces of paper, each of them covered front and back. ‘I did what I could. It’s in the hands of the justice system now.’

Luisa still hadn’t entirely recovered from her conversation with Jane. It had been difficult, hearing all of that. But she’d been waiting for some sort of sign that Rose was willing to come through for her, be there for her, not hurt her again… maybe this was it. Or at least a start. Regardless, she wasn’t going to dive right back into a romantic relationship with Rose, at least not right away. But maybe… they could be friends? At least to start with. They’d never really gotten a chance to do that.

She smiled brightly at the other woman. ‘Thank you. Really. This will mean a lot to Trish.’ _And it also means a lot to me_ , she added silently. They stared at each other for a moment, trying to convey all that had to be said without words. _Wait,_ she thought _, this isn’t very_ _platonic._ Luisa broke eye contact first, and exhaled. ‘I should go and give Trish the good news, but… I’d like to talk to you. Properly. I start my work assignment tomorrow, do you thing we could meet after that?’

Rose nodded, a little too enthusiastically. _Damn, I need to tone it down if I still want these people to be afraid of me. Hopefully, no one apart from Luisa saw_. ‘Sure. I’ll meet you at the clinic after your shift ends?’

Luisa bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at Rose’s eagerness. She doubted the other woman’s ego could take it. ‘I’ll see you then.’

While they had been talking, the more dramatic farewell speeches had finished and some music had began playing. Inmates had spread out; some laughing and talking together, others enjoying the food and music. A small circle had formed around Mercy, with Trish hanging near the edge of it, struggling to maintain her composure. Luisa made her way over to her, and tapped her on the shoulder. She motioned for her to follow her over to the corner, so that they could speak privately. Trish did as she’d indicated, eyeing the paper in her hands with suspicion and the faintest glimmer of hope in her eyes.

‘She finished the letter. It doesn’t mean that you’ll get released early, that’s for the appeal board to decide, but it does give you a chance.’

A bright smile broke out across Trish’s face, the first truly genuine one in days. She leaped forward and wrapped Luisa in an excited hug. ‘Thank you thank you thank you!’ She paused then, as if processing what had just happened and the possibilities that had now been opened to her. She smiled again. ‘Mercy’s gonna freak when I tell her. Will you tell your girl that I said thanks?’

‘She’s not actually-yeah, sure. Now go enjoy the rest of the party.’

Trish beamed at Luisa one final time, before returning to Mercy. The last thing Luisa saw before leaving the rec room and returning to the dorms was the two of them embracing tenderly. She hoped that things would work out for them in the end. They deserved it, after everything they’d been through together.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luisa begins her new assignment and has a much needed conversation with Rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -So it's been 84 years and I'm sorry but it's back! Yay! This chapter is happier than normal, too.  
> -As always, comments are greatly appreciated.

Luisa awoke that morning feeling more refreshed and rejuvenated than she had in a long, long time. Jane’s visit a few days prior had shaken her to her very core – it had been a difficult conversation, one that had ended in an impossible ultimatum. The promise of visiting her nephew and having an actual _place_ in their family was tempting, _so_ tempting, and something she’d wanted for a very long time. But – and it was an important but – Luisa was beginning to realise that she couldn’t necessarily trust her brother to honour that promise. Even if she did sever ties completely with Rose – which she was no longer sure she wanted to do - who was to say another minor transgression wouldn’t put their relationship right back where it had started? He hadn’t spoken a word to her since she’d gotten here.

Helping Trish had been a way to counter-balance the confusion that Jane’s visit had brought up, in a strange way. She’d always relished helping people, whether it be with a minor issue or something more serious. It was the main reason she’d chosen to study medicine, and specialise in gynaecology in particular. She loved helping women in a time that could be both joyful and confusing, depending on the patient and circumstances in question. But there was also an element of pragmatism to it – one she wasn’t always consciously aware of. Focusing on the problems of others allowed her to put off dealing with her own, and came with the additional satisfaction of a job well done. This could sometimes have negative consequences for her own mental health – in college, she’d told herself that she was working towards a career that would help her save countless lives, so why shouldn’t she allow herself another drink?

The situation with Trish had been both similar and dissimilar to that time – she had genuinely wanted to help the other woman – after all, she knew better than most the pain of loving someone who could not be physically near you, and the abandonment issues that came with that. But she also couldn’t deny that there was some level of self-interest in it – she’d been desperate to avoid thinking about Jane’s visit, as well as the all-pervading thoughts of Rose that seemed constantly present. That had backfired spectacularly when she realised that she’d have to interact with Rose anyway of she truly wanted to help the younger woman.

She’d actually been shocked by how well her meetings with Rose had gone – the other woman had realised that Luisa wasn’t in the mood for games, and in some twist of fate, decided to remain mostly professional. She’d still been _Rose_ , a trademark cocky smirk never far from her expression and a witty comeback always at the ready, but for the most part, she had been willing to buckle down and work quietly. Luisa knew that it was likely out of some kind of desire to make things up to her, but it still surprised her. She wasn’t an idiot – contrary to what many believed of her at this point – she knew that no mere gesture on Rose’s part would make up for the things that she’d done, but she’d still appreciated it. More and more, she was realising that the choice of forgiveness rested squarely on her shoulders.

The past few days had shown her that maybe - just maybe - it might be time to start. Jane’s ultimatum was still hanging over her head, but she knew that there was no point in making a definitive decision just yet. Even if she decided to stay away from Rose completely at this stage, that would be almost impossible to do – it was a small prison, and they’d be bound to run into each other eventually. Trying for friendship at this stage was probably her best bet. She knew that if she started sleeping with Rose again, she’d make a rushed decision that she might come to regret later. They needed to work on re-building the trust that had been lost between them.

And, Luisa reminded herself, Mateo wasn’t her only relative that she’d yet to meet – she’d also like to see the twins at some point. She was beginning to establish a relationship with Petra that she would never be able to achieve with Jane. They’d exchanged several phone calls, and Petra had given her several reports on their progress, tentative at first, but growing in confidence as her belief in her ability as a mother grew. She knew that Petra would be less judgemental than Jane or Rafael – she’d done some morally dubious things in her time – and would consequently be less likely to sever ties if she re-connected with Rose. Perhaps there was a chance that she’d eventually allow her to meet them…

Smiling at the idea, Luisa stretched leisurely and rose from her bunk. She had to put all that from her mind now, because today was an important day – she was going to be able to practice again! She wasn’t sure how much control they’d give her over patients – or even how much the prison’s medical centre even covered – but it was better than nothing. More than she’d ever be able to get on the outside, anyway.

Miss Claudette – up bright and early as always – noticed her good mood and smiled, somewhat fondly. ‘What’s brought this on? You usually have to be dragged out of bed to get to breakfast on time.’

That much was true – her period of long unemployment after the insemination had altered her sleeping habits. She was used to getting up at the crack of dawn to go and see to patients, but there had been no need for that during her suspension. It had stripped her of the will to get out of bed a moment before she had to, an unfortunate habit that she had carried with her to prison. But now she’d be doing something that she loved again, and found that the early mornings were once again coming easy to her. ‘It’s the first day of my assignment in medical today.’ She was unable to keep the enthusiasm from her voice or the energy from her movements as she said this.

Miss Claudette bit her lip to contain another smile at the eagerness of her roommate, and said in a faux-stern tone of voice, ‘Better hurry on then, you don’t want to be late on your first day now, do you?’

Luisa beamed once more, before setting off. She didn’t need telling twice.

* * *

 

She arrived in medical with plenty of time to spare. Most of the inmates had yet to rouse themselves from their beds, especially those with jobs that started later than others. Luisa, however, was wide awake. It had been a long time since she had been this excited for anything – her life had been one string of disasters after another since that night when she found Allison in bed with her assistant. She could feel the excitement thrumming through her veins – it was a similar sensation to being drunk, but was ultimately a lot healthier for her in the long run.

She eyed the clock on the wall – she was still a little too early, but wasn’t sure she could contain her eagerness any longer. She raised a hand and knocked on the door. She could hear a shuffle of movement coming from inside, before it swung open revealing the same nurse from orientation. He was already decked out in his usual scrubs, and extended an awkward hand to Luisa. This was different to the way other prison staff approached inmates – she guessed that he didn’t have much interaction with them outside of clinic hours. Nevertheless, he was already treating her as a colleague, and she appreciated it.

‘You’re Luisa, right? I remember you from orientation. I’m glad they assigned you here, it can get pretty busy, especially around flu season – which is coming up, by the way. The DOJ is too cheap to hire another full-time nurse, so I guess they want to exploit your qualifications for less than a dollar an hour. Yay.’ He said the last part sarcastically, before remembering that he hadn’t officially introduced himself. ‘I’m Igme. Any questions before we start?’

Luisa took his extended hand and shook it, and was unable to stop the eager stream of questions that then spewed out of her mouth. ‘When do we start? What kind of illnesses are we looking at? How does the medical system even work here? What medications can we prescribe?’

Igme smiled somewhat bitterly at her enthusiasm – he’d been like that, once. All wide-eyed optimism, eager to give back to society, work where he could make a real difference, yada yada – but Litchfield (and the pencil pushers who ran it) cleared him of that desire pretty quickly. He’d had so many ideas – there were genuine health problems in the prison, ones that could be resolved pretty simply – but they wouldn’t provide the funding for anything, and he never had the necessary sway to persuade them otherwise.

He handed her a pair of scrubs similar to his own, and said, ‘Put these on, and I’ll give you a quick rundown of the facilities we’ve got here, such as they are. Patients will start trickling in in about a half hour.’

Luisa did as he indicated, then followed Igme around as he showed her around medical. She was less than impressed by what she saw, but it didn’t exactly come as a surprise either. The way Sophia had been treated gave her some idea of what to expect – and she’d been mostly right – but it wasn’t exactly comforting knowledge. The prison was unwilling to pay for expensive medications for inmates who had developed conditions while on the inside - be they physical or mental – so  they just threw bulk-bought anti-depressants at the problem and hoped it would go away, in place of offering a formal diagnosis or treatment.

They weren’t equipped to deal with more debilitating illnesses – such as Miss Rosa’s cancer – or even the fallout of a particularly serious fight. Such inmates were usually sent to the nearby hospital, though it wouldn’t be unusual for one of them to go with them, to monitor progress. Igme explained that most of her job would be dealing with follow-up treatments, and the more mundane aspects of health-care – flu-shots, for example.

‘Maria Ruiz  - you might have seen her around, she’s in her third trimester, and due for a check-up this morning. Since that’s your usual area of expertise, I thought you’d like to handle it?’

Luisa’s heart skipped a beat – she’d been expecting to deal with the parts that Igme had previously described, or even just paperwork – but this was the field that she was actually qualified for, one that she loves! She allowed herself to revel in this excitement for one moment more, before pushing it aside and forcing her voice into one of cool professionalism. ‘Is there anything about her I should know before I see her? Medically, I mean. Any problems I should be aware of?’

‘No, medically it’s been an easy pregnancy. The normal morning sickness in her first trimester, but that eased off naturally.’ He hesitated then, voice lowering, ‘Mentally, I’m not too sure. Lately, she’s been coming to terms with the fact that she’s going to be giving birth inside, then giving the baby to outside relatives. As far as I know, she has a pretty long sentence – the kid’ll be in school by the time she gets out.’

Luisa felt a stab of pity for the other woman – that couldn’t be an easy thing to come to terms with. In her years, she’d come to appreciate how important family support could be for an expectant mother – locked up in here, Ruiz would be isolated from that. She’d have her prison family, of course, but it wouldn’t be entirely the same. She nodded at Igme. ‘I’ll keep that in mind.’

‘Good. I have some paperwork to take care of before patients start coming. You should hang here for a while, familiarise yourself where everything is. We’ll get pretty busy later, I won’t have a lot of time to help you out. I’ll call you when it’s time to start seeing patients.’

* * *

 

Luisa took her time examining every nook and cranny of the medical bay, locating and laying out any instruments she might need. She made sure that they were all properly cleaned and ready to use, but in the end, there was only so much fussing she could do. She kept glancing nervously at the clock, excitement continuing to mount as the minutes to opening ticked closer and closer.

A little after nine, the door opened abruptly and a dark-haired, very pregnant woman walked – or more accurately, waddled – into the examination room, talking a mile a minute. Most of it was rapid-fire pregnancy complaints, clearly aimed at Igme. Luisa did her best to take a mental note of them. She stopped speaking when she saw that Luisa was in the room, and raised a suspicious eyebrow.

‘What’s she doing here, doc?’ Her voice held a note of deep distrust. Luisa didn’t know much about the other woman – she hung around with a pretty tight group of people, and had yet to open up to those around her. She thought that being pregnant – and therefore, vulnerable – in prison might have something to do with that.

Igme stepped out from his desk, and calmly explained the situation to her. ‘Luisa here has been assigned to medical. She was a gynaecologist on the outside, so I thought that she’d be uniquely qualified to help with your case. You know it’s not really my area of expertise.’ Noticing the lurking suspicion on the other woman’s face, he said more reassuringly, ‘Don’t worry, you’re in good hands. I trust Dr. Alver.’

Luisa felt a thrill run through her as he used her full title – it had been a long time since anyone had, and she’d missed it. Some of Maria’s wariness lifted, and she nodded slowly. ‘Okay, let’s get this over with.’

Igme smiled at the two women, ‘I’ll leave you guys to it. I’ll be in my office catching up on paperwork if you need me, call if you do.’

Luisa gestured towards the examination chair, and said to Maria – her enthusiasm leaking into her voice – ‘So, if you could just lie over there, and we can get started.’

Maria did so hesitantly, still not fully trusting this new person.

‘So, how far along are you?’ Luisa asked.

‘Eight months.’

‘And any problems so far? Aside from what you mentioned to Igme on the way in. Though it may be uncomfortable, that stuff’s pretty normal, I’m afraid.’

‘Nothing else, no. I’ve been talking to other women in here – a lot of them have kids, and they said it’s all the usual shit too. I just needed someone to rant at about it, really. They get pretty sick of it down in the dorms.’

‘It is better to ask, just in case. It’s what we’re here for. And feel free to rant at me any time. When I’m not here I’m in the ghetto.’

Luisa’s words seemed to provide some comfort to Maria, who nodded thoughtfully, ‘Yeah, that’s why I haven’t seen you around. How come you weren’t put with us over in Harlem?’

‘I’m not really sure, honestly. I think it’s some kind of space issue. Miss C’s okay though. Is it okay if I take a look at your stomach? I need to see if the baby’s in the right position.’

‘Sure thing.’ She raised up her shirt, then asked, ‘So, you’re a doctor? We don’t see a lot of them round here.’

Luisa smiled brightly. ‘Yep, I’m a doctor. Specialised in gynaecology, though I did work in a general ward for a while in med school. Although-’ she bit her lip, considering. Should she tell her that her licence had been suspended? A part of her didn’t want to – a fresh start would be nice. But she figured it was probably ethically important for her to confess. ‘-My licence was suspended a little over a year ago.’

Maria flinched. ‘What? What happened? Did – did someone get hurt?’ She seemed nervous all of a sudden, and Luisa’s heart sank before she rushed to re-assure her.

She took a deep breath, before launching into the story. ‘I accidentally artificially inseminated the wrong woman and she ended up pregnant. And it was my brother’s sperm.’

Maria raised a surprised eyebrow. ‘That’s some story.’ However, some of her earlier suspicion seemed to fall away, and she shrugged, motioning for Luisa to resume the examination. ‘It’s not like you can get _me_ pregnant.’ After a beat, she said, ‘So, I hear tonight might be taco night.’

Luisa could have kissed her. Most would have run a mile after hearing that story, and Luisa wouldn’t have blamed them, but here was Maria – shrugging off what had happened and offering her her trust.

The examination continued with relative ease after that. Maria continued to open up to Luisa – she was beginning to see that it was easier to talk to someone on the inside about health issues, rather than someone who got to go home to a comfortable apartment every day. Luisa was able to better understand a lot of her concerns, and was surprisingly easy to talk to on top of that. She thought that she might just have made a friend.

As Luisa was finishing up the examination, the two maintained a steady stream of conversation, most of it light-hearted as the medical details had already been taken care of. ‘Did you hear what’s been driving everyone insane today?’ She asked.

Luisa shook her head, ‘No, I’ve been here all morning. Honestly, I was so excited to come here that a riot could have broken out and I wouldn’t’ve noticed.’

Maria smiled at the other woman, before continuing her point. ‘They’ve all been running around the yard, looking for some kind of chicken.’

‘A chicken? Like an actual chicken? In the yard? Why? Who?’

‘A lot of people have been doing it – it’s crazy. There’s dozens of stories about why everyone wants it – some people just want to cook it, others say it’s a drug mule… lots of shit, really. They’re all running around the yard now, trying to catch it – though who knows how many of them have even seen it. Stupid right? I think I’ll head out to watch it, it should be funny.’

‘Sure sounds ridiculous. And hey-,’she put a reassuring hand on the other woman’s arm, ‘take care. I know that the next few months are going to be difficult, but there are people here who care about you. Okay?’

Maria nodded mutely, before smiling at her and saying, ‘See you around, Dr. Alver.’

She left then, seeming more at ease than she had when she came in. That gave Luisa a sense of satisfaction that she hadn’t felt in a long time, but she didn’t have much time to reflect on it – a line of patients had already formed outside the door.

Looks like it was going to be a busy day.

* * *

 

Luisa prepared to leave the med-bay feeling exhausted, but more content than she had in a long, long time. She’d loved practicing on the outside, but hadn’t always appreciated what she had when she had it– she was prone to grumbling about getting out of bed early in the morning, or pull the occasional “sick” day – at least until it was gone. She’d missed it then, and missed it dearly.

Being back treating people again – it meant more to her than she could articulate.

Luisa had been so absorbed in her work that she’d almost – but not quite – forgotten her planned meeting with Rose. The thought had been in her head all day, but the constant workload had pushed it into the back of her mind. Now, she had a moment to herself to think about what would happen.

Before every foreseen encounter with Rose in Litchfield, Luisa had made sure that her defences were firmly up and a mile high. She’d always been powerless to resist the other woman’s seductions, and wanted to make sure the same thing wouldn’t happen before she decided what she wanted.

Now though – now, she was in such a good mood that she felt like nothing could go wrong. She had a plan to approach her with, one she genuinely felt was the best solution, at least for the time being. If Rose couldn’t accept it, then it seemed her decision would be made for her.

She had time just to shed her lab-coat and run a quick brush through her hair before she heard a knock on the door – she knew it had to be Rose, as the clinic was closed for the day, and other inmates would just barge in anyway. Not so long ago, Rose would have done the same – but it seemed like she really was trying to respect the boundaries that Luisa had set.

She entered the room with her dark hair loose and flowing – she’d been letting it grow out since she got here, and it was almost back to the length that Luisa was most familiar with. She had a natural confidence in her walk that seemed at odds with her prison attire, as if in her mind she was still wearing her customary rose-patterned garments that would make every head in the room turn towards her.

‘Are you ready?’ She asked, a measured level of politeness in her voice.

Luisa smiled brightly at Rose – much of it was the result of her current good mood, but Rose would take what she could get. She’d missed that expression, and wanted to see more of it.

‘Sure, let’s go. I’ve got a couple of things to run by you.’

* * *

 

Rose and Luisa walked through the corridors of Litchfield side by side, their hands clenched awkwardly – both felt the urge to join them together, but thought that it would best not to in the current circumstances. This was nothing new – they were used to a secret relationship, and knew to refrain from even the most the most innocent displays of affection in public.

An awkward silence had settled between them, heavy with their expectations for the direction that this conversation would take. Luisa had been prepared for this, but now that the time was upon her she realised that she didn’t know where to begin.

Rose broke it first, with a half-smile and a careful inquiry, ‘So, how did your first day in medical go?’ She knew how much practicing meant to Luisa – had been there the day that she’d lost her licence, had seen how listless being without the job she loved made her - and genuinely hoped that this had gone well for her. She deserved it.

Luisa’s own smile widened, ‘It was amazing, Rose. I was able to help so many people – well, as well as I could, the medical facilities here are really awful – and it just felt so _right_ , you know? Like I’m back doing what I was meant to do. That’s not something that I expected to find in prison, and I just- I-,’ words seemed to fail her then, and all she could do was let out a kind of contented squeak.

It was adorable, and Rose laughed softly. ‘I’m happy for you, Lu, really. You were a good doctor, and one mistake shouldn’t change that. The people here are lucky to have you.’

Luisa did reach down to take Rose’s hand then, and squeezed it softly before letting go. ‘Thank you.’

‘No problem. So, there’s something you want to say to me?’

Luisa exhaled. ‘Yeah. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about – us – and I don’t know if I’m ready to forgive you yet.’

Rose’s expression began to harden into one of stoic acceptance, ‘If that’s what you want, I can -’

‘No, wait –I can explain. I had a visit from Jane the other day. She told me that if I sever ties with you, I can visit Mateo. I’ve still not seen him, Rose. She said that I could be a part of his life.’

Rose felt irritation rise up inside her on Luisa’s behalf. She was sick of the way that Rafael treated his sister, and frustrated that Luisa could not see it. She forced her voice into calmer, more even tones. ‘Lu, Rafael won’t keep that promise. He might let you see him once – twice, maybe – but then some imagined slight will set him off again and you’ll be back to square one. Don’t you realise that?’

‘I think I’m beginning to.’ She said quietly. ‘That’s why it’s so hard to make this decision. I don’t know if Raf will keep his word, I don’t know if you will.’

‘Lu-’ She began, but was cut off.

‘No. Let me finish. I came up with a kind of plan, and I think it could be good for us.’

Rose raised an expectant eyebrow. ‘I’m all ears.’

‘I think that we should try just being friends for a while. We never got a chance to do that – it was always sexual, all the time – which was great, don’t get me wrong – but let’s see if there’s anything between us when we take sex _off_ the table. It’ll give me a chance to decide what I want. Do you think you could do that?’ Her voice became tentative towards the end, as if she was unsure of the response her words would merit.

Rose’s initial reaction was to decline, and the response was already on the tip of her tongue – she didn’t do friends, didn’t know how to be one. She had associates, and then subordinates– but not friends, never friends, not since she was a child. Friendship involved a degree of trust and vulnerability that she wasn’t comfortable with. She’d had lovers, of course – but that was different. She could have sex with a woman and then leave before she’d woken back up – there was no need for any extraneous conversation after the initial flirtation, no need for her to reveal anything real about herself. Luisa had been different in that regard – they’d kept coming back to each other, no matter how much either one of them tried to resist, or how many times they said that it would be the last time. She’d shared more of herself with Luisa than she had with anyone in a long, long time. It was the expression on Luisa’s face that made her bite her tongue and consider the things she had suggested.

It wasn’t an entirely unreasonable request. When Luisa had rejected her offer to run away with her – which, in hindsight, had been poorly timed – she’d thought that she’d never see her again. The thought had filled her stomach with a dread that she hadn’t been equipped to dwell on the meaning of. She could feel that sensation returning again – she didn’t want to lose Luisa, not permanently. Not again. If this was the only way she could be with her, maybe she should take it. She could try being… _friends_ with Luisa. She had time, after all.

‘Alright. I agree to your terms.’

‘Wha- really? You’ll do it?’ Luisa seemed surprised, as if she hadn’t expected Rose to agree to her request.

She mustered up a fond smile for the other woman. ‘Yes, I’ll do it.’

Luisa flung her arms around Rose, and rushed out a stream of thank yous. Rose tentatively raised her arms and encircled them around the other woman’s back. It felt good to be in each-other’s embrace again.

She was about to lean in for a kiss before she remembered that they were supposed to be just friends, so pulled away instead.

‘So, what’s our first friend-date supposed to be? I trust you have some kind of plan?’

Luisa didn’t, not really. She thought for a few seconds, and smiled mischievously. ‘So, I heard this story earlier about a chicken…..’


End file.
